INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Musenga's death have reignited calls for increased funding and resources for France's health systemStrasbourg, France:
French authorities have opened an inquiry into the death of a young woman just hours after her distress call to emergency
services was mocked by the operator, prompting a public outcry.Naomi Musenga, 22, dialled France's emergency dispatch number on December 29
last year complaining of strong stomach pains.In a recording of the three-minute call obtained only recently by her family, Musenga's voice
can barely be heard as says "It hurts all over" and "I'm going to die""You're going to die, certainly, one day just like everyone else," the
She is also heard mocking Musenga's complaints with a colleague, before telling the victim to call a doctor for a house visit.Five hours
later Musenga again calls the emergency services, which finally dispatch the ambulance that brings her to a hospital in Strasbourg, eastern
But she died shortly after arriving from a heart attack.According to French daily Le Monde, an autopsy revealed that Musenga had suffered
multiple organ failure.French Health Minister Agnes Buyzn posted on Twitter she was "deeply outraged" and had ordered an inquiry into the
"serious failures" by the emergency services.The circumstances surrounding Musenga's death have reignited calls for increased funding and
resources for France's health system."In 1988, eight million people went to hospital emergency rooms each year
Today's it's 21 million," Patrick Pelloux, head of the French association of emergency doctors (AMUF) told French daily Le Parisien."At the
same time, calls to emergency services have tripled," which have effectively reduced them to "call centres", Pelloux said.The government is
already grappling with huge strains on the health system, with hospital doctors denouncing for weeks a shortage of beds that means many
patients are forced to sleep on gurneys in hallways.Nurses and other workers have also been protesting in recent weeks against overcrowding
and staff shortages.(This story has not been edited by TheIndianSubcontinent staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
