The dreaded mess in the emergency room for a week ultimately did not happen. The challenge by emergency physicians ended barely two days after the start of the conflict. They won their case with the government over their demands on working time.
Since Monday, emergency doctors could be seen wearing a black armband, as a sign of discontent. At the origin of the movement, the request to reduce their working time by 48 hours per week, against 60 hours currently. They also demanded that their overtime be paid beyond 39 hours.
It is on these two points that the strikers and the government agreed, allowing the strike to be lifted. The president of the association of emergency physicians of France (Amuf) describes“historic agreement”, the result of the negotiation obtained with the government on working time. “Even if we did not get everything, it seems to us that the recognition of the 39-hour floor and the triggering of overtime from this floor is a historic agreement, said Patrick Pelloux, quoted by AFP. . We have not had social progress for fourteen years. “
Another demand from emergency physicians concerned the harmonization of financial compensation for guards between university doctors (currently better paid) and hospital practitioners. This bone of contention has not been resolved.
Doctors’ strike upheld
However, the end of the emergency room strike does not change the movement of strike initiated by doctorsgeneral practitioners and specialists (this Tuesday for the former and Wednesday for the latter). A strike which should last until December 31.
This announced closure of medical practices does not worry the French more than that, if we judge an OpinionWay survey for Axys consultants-Le Figaro-BFM Business. 63% of French people support this movement, against 36% who say they are against. Rather indulgent, 8% of respondents say “rather” understand the movement of doctors against the policy of “government health” and 25% understand it “completely”. Only 25% say they do not “understand at all”.
Doctors are standing up against certain measures of the health bill, such as the blocking of the consultation rateat 23 euros, the delegation of vaccination to pharmacists, the increased power of regional health agencies or the generalization of third-party paymentscheduled for 2017.
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