Sion Hospital adds evening on-call service to ease emergency department

Sion Hospital has introduced an evening on-call service to ease pressure on its emergency department and reduce waiting times, SRF reports, citing RTS.

Since 1 September, 80 doctors serving the region between Martigny and Sierre have provided cover for the hospital seven days a week from 6pm to 10pm. The new on-call centre is close to the emergency department, making coordination easier and allowing serious cases to be treated quickly.

Patients at the emergency department are triaged according to the severity of their condition, with life-threatening emergencies given priority. General practitioner Florence Sierro told RTS that it was satisfying for staff and patients when people could be redirected and seen sooner.

The system was introduced by the canton of Valais, Valais Hospital and the Valais Medical Association. It follows models already used at the hospital in Visp and the hospital in Riaz. A pilot project in Sion in 2024 produced satisfactory results, and the new service appears to be easing the emergency department’s workload.

Some doctors have criticised how quickly the system was introduced. A survey of the 80 doctors, reported by the newspaper Nouvelliste in late September, found that 22 opposed it, 38 supported it and 20 declined to comment. Doctors contacted by RTS said the extra shifts were added to their existing duties, with some citing workload pressures and difficulties arranging childcare.

Pierre Arnold, who chairs the on-call commission of the Valais Medical Association, said doctors who object to the service can exchange it for an alternative on-call arrangement at their own practices, covering 7am to 10pm. Those who refuse without making such an arrangement may face a warning, a fine or, in the most serious case, a report to the canton, which could temporarily suspend their licence to practise.