2023-12-21 18:14:31
Published on Dec 21 2023 at 3:22 p.m.Updated Dec 21 2023 at 7:14 p.m.
The health sector is looking for a compass. The government may well assure that French people’s access to healthcare is one of its priority projects, but the succession of Ministers of Health in charge confuses its message and causes concern.
“This ministry is on its third minister in a year and a half! » said the Action Practiens Hôpital union this Thursday, following the resignation the day before of Aurélien Rousseau, in disagreement over the immigration law.
Promises that “will vanish”
The Minister Delegate in charge of Health, Agnès Firmin Le Bodo, was appointed to replace him at short notice, but it is an interim role. “All the discussions, all the projects in progress will come to a complete halt, all the commitments and all the promises will disappear,” fear the hospital unions.
Liberal health professionals are also disappointed. “When will the game of musical chairs end at the Ministry of Health? » launched this Thursday the SNIIL, a nurses’ union which, like other representatives of the profession, awaits the overhaul of the profession promised by the executive last spring.
Before Aurélien Rousseau, the ministry had been occupied for a year by the emergency doctor François Braun. Which had itself replaced Brigitte Bourguignon. Appointed in the wake of Emmanuel Macron’s re-election, she had to give up her place two months later, due to her defeat in the legislative elections.
Exceptional measures
Ministers come and go but the health sector is struggling to emerge from the crisis. Even if Paris hospitals have promised to reopen beds, hospitals still lack health personnel, particularly nurses.
After taking exceptional measures to ensure the functioning of overwhelmed emergency services in the summer of 2022, the government has promised to better pay nurses and doctors in the long term, particularly for night work, weekends and days. holidays. He also put the brakes on temporary medical work but tensions in the services remain high.
Often forced to slow down and faced with inflation, hospitals are waiting for more resources. Again on Wednesday, the French Hospital Federation demanded 1 billion euros to “respond to the budgetary emergency” but the Social Security deficit is already expected to be more than 11 billion euros next year.
Tensions on community medicine
The situation is also tense for city medicine while the French are alarmed by medical deserts. After many standoffs, paramedical professionals (physiotherapists, nurses, etc.) were able to be – a little – better paid by Social Security to cope with inflation.
However, general practitioners, who are fewer and fewer in number to care for an aging population, still protest at being poorly paid and poorly regarded. After closing the door to proposals made by François Braun, the liberal doctors returned to the negotiating table.
In five months, Aurélien Rousseau hardly had time to leave any traces even if he was generally appreciated by professionals. The former minister was largely absorbed by the budgetary discussion. If it brought an increase in resources for the health sector (with an increase in the budget envelope greater than inflation), the message was muddied by the debate on the increase in deductibles on medicines and consultations. planned to limit the Social Security deficit.
Disappointments regarding prevention
Elisabeth Borne’s former chief of staff had certainly promised – like his predecessors – to emphasize prevention. However, few measures in this direction have been revealed. Aurélien Rousseau ended up obtaining additional doses to protect newborns once morest bronchiolitis but they will not be available in pharmacies. And the other vaccination campaigns (flu and Covid) have been sluggish.
Aurélien Rousseau did not convince the anti-smoking associations with his anti-tobacco plan. He also did not present his plan to combat drug shortages which was to be unveiled this week.
Pharmacist by profession, the new interim minister Agnès Firmin Le Bodo, until now in charge of the end of life file, has therefore found this new file on the table. It remains to be seen whether she will have time to take hold of it.
1703488031
#Caregivers #disappointed #succession #Ministers #Health