Adaptation de la régulation médicale du SAMU face à la pandémie de la COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic which reached France in the first half of 2020 constituted for the prehospital emergency medical service (PHEMS, “Service d’aide médicale urgente”, SAMU) a real “stress test” in order to be able to cope on the one hand with the demand for care of the population, and on the other hand to the evolving doctrine of health authorities. This exceptional health situation, unprecedented in terms of amplitude and duration, required for the SAMU dispatch center multiple adaptations, both quantitative and qualitative, in terms of human, logistical, material, and technique. Whereas the first phase of the epidemic has ended, and while waiting for a possible resumption in the days or weeks to come, the major progress made in a forced march to face this crisis must become lasting and constitute a new basis for our health system, both for everyday cases and for future new exceptional health situations.