Xavier Emmanuelli

Biography

Xavier Emmanuelli joined the navy as a doctor, then went on to treat miners. He then specialized in neurology and anesthesia-intensive care. Former Secretary of State for Emergency Humanitarian Action, co-founder of Médecins Sans Frontières, head physician at Fleury-Mérogis prison, physician at the SAMU de Paris, Xavier Emmanuelli is the founder of Samu Social and Samu Social International, which he chairs. Xavier Emmanuelli is convinced that the medical and social sectors must work together to combat exclusion.

Conference: How do we measure medical emergencies?

At each stage of the disease, the doctor adapts his or her strategy. They are sometimes confronted with serious situations, relative emergencies or even absolute emergencies, where life is at stake. In such cases, time is of the essence, and care must be taken in the first few minutes. The doctor must decide and act without delay. This is the short time available before the patient’s condition becomes irreversible. At other times, the illness leads the doctor to work over a long period of time, during the onset of symptoms and the stabilization and treatment period. Medical time constantly measures and adapts to the degree of urgency, in order to prolong as much as possible the time we have left to live…