While the health system is under tension, the collective “Doctors for tomorrow” announces the extension of the strike movement of liberal doctors until January 8 in response, according to them, to the lack of dialogue with the government.
- The general practitioners’ strike between Christmas and New Year’s Day increased the pressure on the hospital and the liberal emergency physicians of SOS Médecins.
- “More than 50%” of surgeries have been closed, the group Doctors for Tomorrow told AFP and a drop in activity of around 30% was observed among general practitioners, according to Health Insurance.
- About 60% of its members (16,000 practitioners) declared themselves to be on strike last week, reports Le Parisien.
“It is with great regret and bitterness that we officially call for a second week of strike by liberal doctors in France, from January 2 to 8, 2023 inclusive” : the strike of general practitioners, started on December 26, is renewed until January 8, as announced by the collective “Doctors for tomorrow” in a communicated published on its website, relayed by The Parisian. And this, despite the health authorities’ call for “sacred union” in the face of hospital pressure linked to the triple Covid-flu-bronchiolitis epidemic.
Liberal medicine: a demonstration planned in Paris on January 5
“The government has unfortunately not deigned to pay attention to us despite this first week of strike”affirms the collective, considering at the same time to have been “unfairly lectured” by Francois Braun. The Minister of Health had in fact strongly criticized the strike, describing it as “unwelcome in this period of extreme difficulty for the health system”. In reaction to the announcement of this new strike, Jean-Louis Teboul, head of the intensive medicine and resuscitation department at the Bicêtre hospital (AP-HP), warned Monday morning at the microphone of BFM TV of a probable decay of the health system if measures are not taken by the executive: “We have to prevent it from being completely destroyed.”
In addition to the renewal of this strike, a demonstration is planned in Paris on Thursday 5 January. The departure will take place on the Place du Panthéon (5th arrondissement) in the direction of the Ministry of Health. The main demand remains the doubling of the price of the basic consultation (from 25 to 50 euros) to create a “shock of attractiveness” towards a city medicine in dire need of staff, crushed by administrative tasks and which does not attracts more young people, as well as an improvement in their working conditions.
Physician organizations are also concerned about their freedom of location, challenged by proposed medical deserts laws, and fear that other caregivers may be allowed to prescribe, especially advanced practice nurses. . The strike call launched on December 26 was supported by several unions, including UFML (French Union for Free Medicine), FMF (Federation of Doctors of France), SML (Union of Liberal Doctors) and Young Doctors.
Covid-19: biology laboratories could also go on strike
At the same time, the biology laboratories will no longer report from January 2 the results of the Covid tests which allow the government to follow the evolution of the epidemic, their unions announced on Saturday in a press release to AFP. Angry, they denounce a “blocked dialogue” with the National Health Insurance Fund.
“Patients will be able to continue to be tested in laboratories but the government will not receive any data feedback” in the national file, they say. “If that is not enough, we are considering a new national strike over several days and the total cessation of Covid acts for an indefinite period. We would like not to come to that for access to care for our patients, (it’s is) now up to the government to take its responsibilities and not take the population hostage”they warn.
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