They predict a “black Friday.” An inter-union of twelve unions of doctors and liberal students has called a strike for this Friday, October 13, to demand a “consequent” revaluation of municipal medicine and a modification of the Valletoux bill, considered too restrictive by doctors, among others.
“As of Friday, October 13, liberal medicine will stop giving a strong signal to public authorities. It is unquestionably a Black Friday and it will be renewed,” declared Philippe Cuq, president of the Bloc (surgeons’ union) and spokesperson for the inter-union. , during a press conference this Tuesday.
“All consultation activities and technical events are descheduled,” he also said. According to a study by Drees, the research department of the Ministry of Health, in 2021, 56% of practicing doctors carry out a liberal activity. What should people do who, despite this strike, need to see a doctor outside the public system this Friday and possibly after?
“Transfer to public hospital”
Firstly, although the inter-union predicts that many private doctors will continue this strike, it is recommended to call your doctor to check if you will be able to keep your appointment. If he is on strike, the order of the inter-union is to “transfer him to the public hospital,” the president of the Liberal Doctors Union, Sophie Bauer, explains to BFMTV.com.
“Our goal is precisely to show that it is difficult for us to do without ourselves,” emphasizes the surgeon.
Specifically, it will be recommended to “dial 15 if necessary”, where regulatory doctors will be able to guide the patient, according to Soline Guillaumin, spokesperson for the Doctors for Demain collective. It should be noted that the emergency services of many hospitals are also overwhelmed: “finding a doctor will be very complicated,” anticipates the family doctor.
Are SOS Doctors also on strike?
Dr. Guillaumin also advises against going to the pharmacist to compensate for the doctor’s absence: “a doctor makes a diagnosis, palpates the patient, examines him and questions him. The pharmacist does not palpate, “does not examine and has not been trained to make a diagnosis. “, Explain.
“Runny nose, sore throat, you might think it’s pharyngitis, but maybe it’s thyroiditis, for example,” he says.
It may not be easy to call SOS Médicos either, some of whose professionals could also go on strike, according to the inter-union. The exact terms of the strikes will be revealed this Thursday.
A strike to demand “strong political measures”
The future strikers want to make it clear that this form of action is necessary due to the current situation. “For a doctor, going on strike is not trivial. A doctor is a vocation and going on strike is complicated,” Franck Devulder, president of the Confederation of French Medical Unions, told BFMTV.com.
“Simplement, il faut que nos concitoyens entendent et comprennent que (…) si nous voulons un système de santé qui nous permette à tous d’avoir un médecin, il faut que des mesures politiques fortes soient prises”, ajoute-t- He.
“We contribute according to our means and receive according to our network”
According to a Drees study from March 2021, the number of doctors is expected to decrease until 2024, “a reflection of the low numerus clausus of the 1990s and the cessation of activity of large generations.” These numbers should not return to their 2021 level until “2030.”
At the same time, the number of independent doctors tends to decrease in favor of employees. “However, private doctors carry out a greater number of consultation hours than salaried doctors” and “they constitute the main offer of primary care and an essential link in the patient’s care itinerary,” explains vie-public.fr, a site of information dependent on the Prime Minister’s Services.
“What will happen after October 13 is what patients risk experiencing almost daily in the coming years,” Soline Guillaumin also warns.
“The principles of social security in France are ‘I contribute according to my means and receive according to my needs’. But today we contribute according to our means and receive according to our network, our knowledge,” laments Franck Devulder, a gastroenterologist.
“We do this to improve our working conditions”
The conventional negotiations with the Health Insurance broke down last year, giving rise to an arbitration agreement, with an increase in the price of consultations of only 1.50 euros compared to the previous prices dating back to 2017. “We need sufficient means to support liberal medicine”, the representative of the inter-union, Philippe Cuq, stressed on Tuesday, adding that the new agreement should “return the attractiveness of the profession” among young people, who, according to him, hesitate to establish themselves.
“At some point we will have to show that we need resources for community medicine,” believes surgeon Sophie Bauer, president of the Union of Liberal Doctors.
“It’s not about being rich, it’s about being able to invest in our practices, we need certain teams to expand them,” he explains. “We are not doing this to increase our standard of living, we are doing it to improve our working conditions, allowing us to better care for patients.”
Source: BFM TV
