The Minister of Health says he is “annoyed” after the legal action of UFC-Que Choisir which accuses the government of inaction in the face of medical deserts

The association filed an appeal before the Council of State to denounce the government’s “inaction” in the face of inequalities in access to doctors.

Tone up. The Minister of Health Aurélien Rousseau said he “irritated”Thursday November 23, in Releaseafter the legal action of the UFC-Que Choisir association which accuses the government “inaction” facing medical deserts, considering their criticism “unbearable”.

The association filed an appeal before the Council of State on Tuesday to denounce “inaction” of the government in the face of growing inequalities in access to primary care doctors, including general practitioners, gynecologists, ophthalmologists and pediatricians. She calls in particular for measures to regulate the installation of doctors. “That we are accused of inaction annoys me. Leaving this idea floating around that, for politicians, people’s lives would be a setting in which we walk around, is unbearable. I am not disconnected”defended Aurélien Rousseau in a daily interview Release.

“There is no inaction”

“As for ophthalmologists, it’s true that there are difficulties” but “this is precisely why we pushed them to agree to share certain tasks with the orthoptists! We also moved on dental care”, he argued. In the Social Security financing bill for 2024, “we generalize the possible presence of dental regulation in access to care services. There is no inaction”, he added.

But the government is not “effectively do not agree with forcing a doctor (…) to settle somewhere. Because we are convinced that the remedy would be worse than the disease”, that doctors would then risk “change job”, he continued. Asked about the winter epidemics, the minister also welcomed the “success” vaccination against Covid-19: “There are a million additional vaccinations compared to last year, with a total of 3.8 million doses injected, 75% intended for vulnerable people”he clarified.

Concerning the fight against bronchiolitis, he indicated that in addition to the “50,000 additional doses” of Beyfortus (preventive treatment administered to babies) ordered from Sanofi for “hold the winter season in maternity wards”, the government had “was able to have 20,000 additional doses of 100 mg for children weighing more than 5 kilos, intended for pharmacies”.