After the adoption at first reading of the Health bill from Marisol Touraine to the National Assembly last April, the minister was no doubt expecting a return to calm at the level of protests. It was without counting on the fed-up of general practitioners in the agglomeration of Roanne, in Rhône-Alpes.
To protest against the Health Law and express their discomfort, they declared a three-day strike from Monday, May 18.
According to Dr Bruno Pagès, one of the doctors behind the movement interviewed by AFP, the strike is “massive” because it is followed by almost all general practitioners in Roanne. “According to a score, 50 out of 52 medical practices are closed in Roanne. […] In the towns and villages around Roanne, movement is followed by at least 95% of doctors ”, specifies Dr. Pagès.
In a letter addressed to the patients, the striking doctors from Roanne explained the reasons for their dissatisfaction. They denounce “the catastrophic development of medical demography” in the region, where 4 general practitioners are retiring at the end of 2015 and two have left the profession for burn-out, without being replaced in the coming months. Practitioners also denounce a vote “in all haste” on April 14 of the Health Bill of Marisol Touraine, which will generate a “considerable change in the administrative burden required of doctors”.
“The secret vote on the Touraine bill is the catalyst for the ill-being of the medical population,” said Dr Pagès. “We are located in a region where life is good, but the patient numbers are twice the national average. Try to call to make an appointment! You will have it after three weeks. Except emergency. And if you are not a regular patient, you will hear yourself saying that we are not taking a new one. You can browse the directory. You will not find any doctor, ”the doctor protested.
Even if the causes of the discontent are partly local, Dr. Pagès hopes to see the movement gain momentum in the coming days, at least in the neighboring departments. Doctors from Saône-et-Loire gathered under the MST71 collective (doctors without teletransmission) called to follow the movement “out of solidarity”. Nearly 200 general practitioners in the department are therefore likely to join the sling from Wednesday, April 20.
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