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CHUV, a vision of tomorrowInterview with Mr Pierre-François Leyvraz,Chief ExecutiveChief Executive of the CHUV (Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois), the university hospital of Lausanne since June 2008,Pierre-François Leyvraz is the first doctor in twenty years to captain this huge and powerful ship. A general practitioner whobecame a highly respected orthopaedic specialist, this energetic man (he still practises once a week as an orthopaedicsurgeon) has defined two main priorities or major avenues to be pursued at CHUV: education and training on the one hand,and holistic patient care on the other. “The true capital in healthcare today, he says, isn’t money, or technology, but people.”This philosophy, which is set against the background of a medicine that is becoming ever more technical and efficient, butsometimes also dehumanized, dictates his choices and inspires his decisions. We met him.8You attach great importance to education and training. Does that meanthe days of too many doctors and restricted intake are a thing of the past?We already have a shortage of healthcare workers in Switzerland,which is a more or less serious problem depending on the specialityand profession. The number of foreign nurses for example is very high.In terms of doctors, we are less affected than France and Germany, oreven the German-speaking part of Switzerland which has a largenumber of German doctors, but the shortage will get worse. We don’thave enough general practitioners and in certain specialist areas theproblem is causing concern. Before long there will be a desperateshortage of obstetricians, anaesthetists, surgeons and neurosurgeons.We already don’t have enough psychiatrists. It is therefore extremelyimportant that we pay particular attention to the training of youngpeople, and therefore that we strengthen ties with the Faculty ofBiology and Medicine at UNIL (University of Lausanne).What initiatives have been taken in this direction?We have appointed a part-time medical director whose main task is toput in place a highly efficient and attractive training system that islikely to attract young doctors. If we can offer good training courses,CHUV FACTS AND FIGURES…- almost 41,500 in-patients, average stay 8.9 days- some 8,400 members of staff, almost two-thirds of whom arewomen and more than 90 nationalities- a budget of more than a billion Swiss francs- 89% of CHUV’s patients come from the canton of Vaud- more than 1,100 students at the School of Medicine and theFaculty of Biology and Medicine- one of 5 university hospitals in Switzerland with Basel, Berne,Geneva and Zurich- a centre of excellence for cardiovascular disease and metabolism,and for sleep investigation and research- a key player in numerous areas such as third-degree burns,organ transplants and cancerwe will have less difficulty in recruiting doctors and administrators.As a university hospital, we not only have a duty of care, but also aduty to provide training and toconduct research. We are planning astructural rapprochement betweenthe CHUV and the Faculty ofBiology and Medicine at UNIL,particularly between the governingbodies. This hospital-college projecttestifies to a genuine will to joinforces.© Cemcav/CHUVCan this shortage also be attributed toa crisis in the vocational professions?No, it’s not an issue of vocation.The policies on restricted intakehave played a role, and in somecantons the universities do stilloperate a selective entry policy forstudying medicine. The ageingpopulation is increasing the demandfor healthcare, as are demographicchanges. We need to promote thehealthcare professions in schools.We must also make every effort tostop people leaving the profession,Swiss Label CHUV 2010