“The office is closed. “Liberal doctors are again called upon to close their practices from Monday until January 2 to demand an increase in the consultation fee and an improvement in their working conditions, a movement which however promises to be less followed than that of early December. The authorities’ call for a “sacred union” of health professionals, in the hope of “relieving” hospitals overwhelmed by the “triple epidemic” of Covid-19, bronchiolitis and influenza, did not make them give up ” Doctors for tomorrow”.
This collective signed a coup on December 1 and 2: its slogan of closing medical offices led to a drop in activity of around 30% among general practitioners, according to Health Insurance. The collective then announced a new strike between Christmas and New Year’s Day, a call it has maintained since, with the support of certain unions (UFML, FMF, SML, Young Doctors).
Consultation fee, working conditions…
The mobilization “will be a little less, let’s face it, but despite everything substantial”, predicted the founder of “Doctors for tomorrow”, Christelle Audigier, who is already planning towards the national demonstration planned in Paris on January 5. His collective is calling for a doubling of the basic consultation fee (from 25 to 50 euros) to create a “shock of attractiveness” towards city medicine in dire need of staff, crushed by administrative tasks and which no longer attracts young people.
All doctors’ organizations are worried about their freedom of installation, challenged by proposed laws on medical deserts. They are strongly opposed to the possibility that advanced practice nurses (APNs) could be authorized to prescribe.
Towards requisitions of strikers?
Acting that the negotiations in progress with Health Insurance have produced “advances”, several of the main unions (MG France, the CSMF and Avenir Spé) do not call for the cabinets to be closed during the holidays. The Minister of Health, François Braun, hailed their “responsibility”, given the “critical situation” of hospital emergencies.
“It seems to me a very bad time not to respond to the healthcare needs of the population”, argued the director general of the Regional Health Agency (ARS) Île-de-France, Amélie Verdier. If necessary, the ARS will be able to requisition strikers. One of the leaders of the movement, Jérôme Marty (UFML), temporizes: “If the demand is high due to viral circulation, we will take a few patients”.