The health minister insists the strike comes as hospitals face “a week of all dangers”.
A firm Minister of Health. From the Annecy hospital center in Haute-Savoie, François Braun ruled on Wednesday that the general practitioners’ strike, which started on Monday, is “unwelcome” and comes at “the wrong time”, while hospitals are facing a triple epidemic of Covid-19, influenza and bronchiolitis.
“It’s not the right time, it’s not in the most difficult period like now that it’s a good thing to go on strike”, he detailed in front of the press, stressing that “this week is a week of all dangers” due to “current situation of extreme difficulty in the health system”.
François Braun calls for the use of “institutions which make it possible to discuss and deal with problems”.
“My door has always remained open, it will remain so to solve the problems, but we do not go on strike before starting to discuss”, insists the minister.
A movement that must continue until January 2
Among the demands of the Doctors for Tomorrow collective: the doubling of the consultation fee, which they want see go from 25 to 50 euros. A tariff increase which, according to the striking doctors, would make consultations more fluid by employing a secretary.
The strike movement, which is called to last until January 2, also results from a concern about the freedom of installation of liberal doctors. Some health professionals are concerned that the latter will be called into question by the government, which wishes to fight against medical deserts.
In addition to emergency services, the strike movement increases the pressure on SOS Doctors, a service that offers emergency medicine at home. On Monday, Doctor Urfan Ashraf, vice-president of SOS Médecins, indicated that the service was overwhelmed, with sometimes up to fifty calls waiting.
