Faire face aux situations d’urgence médicale de l’adulte polyhandicapé : un casse-tête permanent pour les équipes soignantes dans les établissements médicosociaux

Emergency, for a multi-handicapped person, is a critical situation in which the risk of adverse consequences could lead to a state of distress. In the medical-social sector, this is a recurring situation and a source of anxiety for caregivers. Managing urgent situations is even more difficult with the adult multi-handicapped than with the children. These episodes are energy draining and, when they occur again and again, especially in a smaller team, they can provoke burn out, a state that can quickly become infective, severe and long lasting. In order to avoid this disastrous development, an emergency in an adult multi-handicapped patient must be anticipated and managed, not just endured as a fatality.