The Rangueil Hospital in Toulouse (Sipa

"You can use the keywords most terrible, the most appalling for us it is a failure," said the hospital director, after the publication of reports on overexposure from 145 patients in 2006 and 2007.


The Rangueil Hospital in Toulouse (Sipa)
After hearing two reports published on Tuesday, February 26 overexposure to radiation of 145 patients at the Rangueil Hospital in Toulouse in 2006 and 2007, the Director General of the hospital, Jean-Jacques Romatet acknowledged responsibility for its establishment face what he calls "disaster" and "failure".

"Catastrophe and failure"

"When we are hospitable and we have the desire to heal, an accident like this is a disaster for us. You can use the keywords most terrible, the most appalling for us it is a failure," at he said at a press conference in the presence of Bernard Pradère, Chairman of the Medical Commission of establishment.

Organization insufficient

Jean-Jacques Romatet acknowledged "inadequate organization at the root of poor calibration, only the cause of the accident", and "the lack in the quality of the announcement" to the sick. "We will take all measures that are necessary for the organization in place should be improved, not only in this business but also in the field of risk management throughout the hospital," he continued.
According to him, the report by the Institute for Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety (IRSN) was determined with precision the number of patients who have had damage, by types of pathology, and those that must be followed during the three to five years to come. "
According to the report, 31 patients are in this case and 11 others who for the moment have no effect but, as a precautionary measure, should be monitored. "

"Taking responsibility"

"Faced with the failures, we want to assume our responsibilities, ie at the same time correcting and draw conclusions with respect to our expertise sick after the damage and suffering," said the director of CHU Toulouse, who stated that "it can not be translated as compensation." On compensation, he said that the amount of 5,000 euros to "those who were told there had been an accident." "Those for whom life has changed benefit after expertise, compensation, which has nothing to do with the 5,000 euros," he said. The hospital hopes lead to "an agreement in April."
Jean-Jacques Romatet has however refused to recognize "a lack of competence" in Toulouse Rangueil-and competition with the Institute of Cancer Control Claudius-Régaud. "We are not on the same field," he said.
Finally, he said that Igas relieved suggested it "was not necessary to go to court". "Setting this question by looking for culprits is not the solution," he concluded.

Two investigative reports published

Earlier in the day, two reports were published Tuesday on the website of the Ministry of Health: one of the General Inspectorate of Social Affairs (IGAS), the other at the Institut de Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety (IRSN). According to them, an error calibration of the machine by the manufacturer and a malfunction of the hospital would be at the root of surirradiations of 145 patients in the Rangueil Hospital in Toulouse
"The team from CHU Rangueil initially made a technical error calibration of a beam on the aircraft (...) It was only after a year that the firm went Brainlab account of the mistake. Meanwhile, 145 people received doses of radiation too strong, "explained the Minister of Health, Roselyne Bachelot, questioned Tuesday in" Le Parisien-Aujourd'hui en France. "

5000 euros per patient concerned

Roselyne Bachelot, who also reconnaîssait "breakdowns in the organisation of the hospital" and "information to victims (...) partial and too late", specified that "the insurer of the hospital agreed to pay 5,000 euros for each of the patients involved. "
According to the report of IGAS, "the error in causing the accident occurred during the calibration phase of the multi-blade collimator (...) At this stage, a measurement error leads to a mistake in the modeling of the dose and, ultimately, in the dose to the patient. " However, "the most advanced teams, especially the cancer centre of Nantes who came to install the same equipment, have not been adequately consulted" and "controls implemented could not detect the anomaly."

"No patient has been informed"

The same report points out that after the discovery of an overdose, "no patient has been informed in the statutory limit of 15 days." It was "by the media that the majority of patients have learned of the overdose of which they were victims."
The report of the IRSN also indicates that the calibration error is "exclusively due to non-compliance with the procedures established by the manufacturer to a single point, including the criticality be shielded from personal non-specialists Dosimetry.