Objective: To know: (1) how French public services of anaesthesia and critical care (ACC) have applied the new principles of hospital management and (2) whether or not it has impacted the different components of ACC.
Study design: National questionnaire at the end of 2008, i.e., after 2 years of new hospital management.
Material: Heads of ACC services in general (GH) and university hospitals (UH).
Methods: Eighteen closed questions and open opinions analyzed. Comparisons of percentages (Chi(2) - Yates): linear correlation.
Results: Percentages of responses were 70% (n=51) for UH and 37% (n=146) for GH. The new management principles were mainly applied. The different clinical and academic components of the ACC specialty (ACC, emergency medicine, pain management) mainly remained associated in UH. In GH, the new management induced constant and various changes. They were mainly judged as defeating the object of the ACC speciality in GH, especially in those of lower and mild sizes.
Conclusion: The general tendency is that the ACC specialty was able to maintain the family ties of its different components in the UH. However, this principle was not a cornerstone of the new management in the GH.
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