The interns are on strike on Monday to restart discussions with the government on the reform of their working time. With 60-hour weeks, these future doctors are overwhelmed.
“We will not let the Minister of Health despise and insult the interns. The rumble has only just begun. This is the tweet posted Wednesday evening by theInter National Union of Interns (ISNI) at the end of a meeting with the cabinet of Marisol Touraine. Because of the deadlock that remains on the excessive working time of interns at the hospital, the union has maintained its call to strike for Monday, November 17. The goal of this maneuver: to ensure that future doctors work in better conditions.
1 in 5 hospitals do not apply safety rest
Among the reasons for the discord, one study of the conference of hospital directors that the ISNI recently made public, showing that despite the ministerial injunctions “and the incantations of Marisol Touraine” according to the ISNI, the safety rest is still not respected in 20% of cases (up to 70% in surgery). However, in theory, the intern should benefit from a security rest at the end of each night shift lasting 11 hours immediately following the call.
This non-compliance with Public health code is unfortunately maintained by hospital doctors since in nearly 70% of cases, safety rest is not respected at the request of the head of the service. In addition, 57% of interns who did not have a safety rest continue with another day of work. “Beware of medical errors,” hammer home these interns.
Rightly so, if we remember the 2012 ISNI survey where 15% of residents interviewed declared having made medical errors in prescription, diagnosis or even an operative act the day after on call. More than 39% of them also felt that they probably carried out without saying it with certainty.
60 hours per week minimum
In addition, the ISNI has been warning for a long time about the overload of work in the hospital, of which the interns are also victims. Contacted by why actor, Emmanuel Loeb, president of ISNI confides: “It is high time to take strong, courageous and final measures to settle the issue of interns’ working time. He thus proposes a simple measure to take: a work week starting on Monday morning and ending on Friday evening. Saturday morning would thus be counted as a call, better paid, ”he explains.
Listen to Emmanuel Loeb, president of ISNI: “ It should not be said that the interns do not want to work. We are just asking to be made safe with the safety rest app… “
And on this subject also, hospitals are not exempt from all reproach since according to the survey conducted by ISNI in 2012, an intern works an average of 60 hours per week. Other studies indicate that more than 65% of interns on hospital placements work more than 50 hours per week. And in some extreme cases, interns can even do up to 90 hours per week for an emergency or surgery internship, for example.
The fault is also too high a number of guards per month. Indeed, while the normal on-call service of an intern includes one night call per week and one Sunday or public holiday per month, on average, an intern performs 4 calls per month with significant variations between the disciplines. Obstetrics-gynecology, anesthesia-resuscitation and surgical specialties are the 3 disciplines where the number of on-call is the most important (seven in some establishments).
“A denial of social justice”, for the interns
“Illegal” working conditions since French hospitals must normally respect (as for hospital practitioners) a working period of 48 hours per week set by the European directive (2003/88 / EC).
And on this subject, the European Commission is closely monitoring France. In a reasoned opinion last March, it indicated very clearly that France “does not take into account all the hours actually worked (…) whereas the aforementioned directive requires that (the periods of overtime and the hours of lessons) be taken into account. like working time. ”
But despite this warning from Brussels, the text proposed by the Ministry of Health today “does not count as working time all the service obligations of interns. In addition to the fact that this proposal is “illegal”, it risks having a serious impact on the quality of the training of future health professionals “, recently deplored the ISNI. The union was pleased, however, that on-call time is now part of working time. “On this point the government has revised its copy,” says Emmanuel Loeb.
Towards an exodus of interns abroad?
Finally, the latter wishes to alert the public authorities to a recent phenomenon, that of French interns who leave to practice medicine abroad in order to have better working conditions. The president of ISNI cites as such Canada or Switzerland towards which future doctors are starting to look. “It is still a minor phenomenon but it is likely to gain momentum in the years to come if nothing is done in favor of interns. Especially since there is no language barrier, ”warns Emmanuel Loeb.
Moreover, if nothing changes, “other longer mobilizations are to be expected in the coming weeks,” concludes Emmanuel Loeb.
Listen to Emmanuel Loeb : ” It is a job that we do because we have a particular attraction for taking care of people’s health. But today we fear an exodus of French doctors to go and practice elsewhere… “
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