"Ségur de la santé", a revival for the hospital?

Today opens, and for a month and a half, at the Ministry of Health a major concertation to "reshape the public hospital".

With this unprecedented health crisis, the government has committed to opening several projects to improve care for the sick and the working conditions of caregivers.

During this "Ségur de la santé" (so named because the Ministry of Health is located at 8, avenue de Ségur), Édouard Philippe, Olivier Véran and the health professions, mainly hospital, will have to, by September weeks lead to a "overhaul of the health system" French.

Construction sites

There is thus the more than delicate subject of the rise in wages. Emmanuel Macron has promised to “put an end” to the “impoverishment” of nursing staff, by initiating an increase in remuneration, in addition to the bonuses announced in the face of the Covid-19 crisis, as AFP recalls.

Unions have been waiting for this gesture for years. The latter show the weakness of hospital salaries, especially for nurses: the latter receive 1,500 euros net at the start of their career, one of the lowest levels in OECD countries (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) , according to AFP.

For nurses, the objective is to reach a "level of remuneration" equivalent "to the European average", assured the Minister of Health, Olivier Véran, adding that the increases would affect both hospitals and nursing homes . The differential would be around 300 euros per month, according to the unions.

The Minister of Health wants to "review the framework for the organization of working time at the hospital". He believes it is necessary to question the "shackles that prevent those who wish to work more".
An announcement that caused the reaction of several unions, attached to the 35-hour week and which recall that many employees have never been able to access the reduction in working hours, due to the lack of sufficient hirings in hospitals.

Based on the words of Olivier Véran, the question is not to "deregulate working time" but to simply want to allow "employees who wish" to organize "their working time differently".
This reform corresponds to a long-standing request from the French Hospital Federation (FHF), which advocates an "advanced autonomy system" for hospitals, disorganized according to it by the 35-hour reform, AFP said.

The State has also promised to discuss the “issue of skills upgrading”, to “enhance the value of all careers, all trades and develop new professional paths”. The goal ? Reinforce the attractiveness of hospitals, which struggle for many to recruit and retain their employees, given the working conditions but also, according to the unions, the inadequate management of human resources.

Another major challenge for the government: to combat “over-administration”, by giving more weight to “doctors”. Mentioned by AFP and the Huffingtonpost, the executive could reform activity pricing a little more (T2A), introduced in 2003. This system fixes hospital resources according to the acts performed, and it has often been accused to push the “volume race”.

Last, but not least, the debt of hospitals, which now stands at 30 billion euros. As part of the “hospital plan” decided in autumn 2019, the government announced a “massive” debt recovery of 10 billion euros over three years. But following the Council of Ministers on Wednesday, Olivier Véran spoke of an "effort of 13 billion euros".

"Massive plan" for the hospital, bonus: the new announcements by Emmanuel Macron

Video by Clara Poudevigne