French hospitals face service disruptions and closures

The Nantes University Hospital (CHU de Nantes) is experiencing a major technical failure affecting its internal digital services and datacenter network. Since Friday evening, the outage has cut off access to daily IT tools used by medical teams. While technical teams work to resolve the incident, the hospital has activated emergency contingency procedures to ensure patient safety and continuity of care. The hospital has requested that patients only visit the emergency department for serious cases, advising others to contact primary care physicians or pharmacists.

Separately, the Mamers hospital site, part of the Alençon-Mamers Intercommunal Hospital Center (CHICAM), has announced a temporary suspension of its emergency and SMUR services until November 23, 2026. This decision stems from a critical shortage of medical and paramedical staff, including 13 vacant physician positions and numerous unfilled nursing shifts. To manage emergencies during this period, residents are instructed to call 15 for guidance to appropriate medical structures.