The movement promises to be less followed than that of the beginning of December. Liberal doctors are again called upon to close their practices from Monday, December 26 and until January 2 to demand an increase in the consultation fee and an improvement in their working conditions.
The authorities’ appeal to “the sacred union” health professionals, in the hope of ” relieve “ hospitals overwhelmed by “triple epidemic” Covid-19, bronchiolitis and flu, did not make the Doctors for Tomorrow collective give up. This one signed a bang on the 1er and December 2: his slogan to close medical practices led to a drop in activity of around 30% among general practitioners, according to Health Insurance.
The collective then announced a new strike between Christmas and New Year’s Day, a call it has maintained since, with the support of certain unions (UFML, FMF, SML, Young Doctors). Mobilization “will be a little less, let’s face it, but still substantial”predicts the founder of Doctors for tomorrow, Christelle Audigier, who is already planning for the national event scheduled for Paris on January 5.
For a doubling of the basic consultation fee
His group is calling for a doubling of the basic consultation fee (from 25 to 50 euros), to create a “attractiveness shock” towards a city medicine glaringly short of manpower, crushed by administrative tasks and which no longer attracts young people.
All doctors’ organizations are worried about their freedom of installation, challenged by proposed laws on medical deserts. They are strongly opposed to the possibility that advanced practice nurses (APNs) could be authorized to prescribe.
Noting that the ongoing negotiations with the Health Insurance have produced “advanced”, several of the main unions (MG France, the CSMF and Avenir Spé) do not call for the cabinets to be closed during the holidays. The Minister of Health, François Braun, welcomed their ” responsibility “considering the ” critical situation “ faced by hospital emergencies.
“It seems to me a very bad time not to respond to the healthcare needs of the population”, argued the director general of the regional health agency (ARS) Ile-de-France, Amélie Verdier. If necessary, the ARS will be able to requisition strikers. One of the leaders of the movement, Jérôme Marty (UFML), delays: “If the demand is high due to viral circulation, we will take a few patients. »