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At the call of the Doctors for Tomorrow collective, several medical practices are closing their doors on December 1 and 2 throughout France. What are their demands?
Today and tomorrow, general practitioners are on strike. You therefore risk finding doors closed until the weekend in the event of a consultation. A fairly rare situation (the last call from all the unions of liberal doctors dating from 2015) to challenge the executive within the framework of the Social Security budget.
An increase in the consultation fee requested
The grumbling movement was initiated by the young collective doctor for tomorrow, created at the end of August and which has more than 14,000 members on Facebook. With for “single claim”, doubling the price of the consultation (from 25 to 50 euros). This group calling itself “apolitical and non-union” has rallied all the representative organizations to its cause, which see it as a means of influencing negotiations with Medicare for a new agreement for the next five years.
“Fifty euros, it may seem completely crazy, but it is a point on the horizon to approach the European average consultation fee, around 45 euros” asserted Jérôme Marty, of the UFML this morning in 20 minutes. “These two days of closure must constitute an electric shock”affirms for its part the Union of liberal doctors (SML), which has long been calling for a consultation at 50 euros to give doctors “the means to remain liberal”.
For Jean-Christophe Nogrette, deputy secretary general of MG France contacted by Doctissimo, there is however a nuance in the claims mentioned. If the anger of the whole profession against “deteriorating working conditions and unsuitable pay” is shared within his union, the general practitioner has reservations about the claim “Everything at 50€” is hardly understandable by a suffering population.
Above all, this figure is incapable of modifying the attractiveness of treating general medicine: 40% of practicing GPs are not treating doctors because this exercise is very difficult and very unattractive” he acknowledges.
However, his request is also focused on remuneration: “We are calling for a revaluation of the basic act allowing inflation to be caught up since the last increase 6 years ago, a specific increase for the complex acts of the attending GP and the doubling of the attending physician package, the financing of a full-time medical assistant for all those who request it and that everything be done to make the profession of general practitioner more attractive” he lists.
A movement destined to intensify?
The rise in tariffs is presented by the unions as a necessity to create a “attractiveness shock“towards a city medicine crushed by administrative tasks to the detriment of care, and which no longer attracts young people. Beyond the financial subject, doctors are also worried about their freedom of installation, which is increasingly postponed in question.
The Doctors for Tomorrow collective plans “thousands of medical offices closed” throughout France and several actions in the regions and in Paris. “A lot of doctors who have never closed in their life will do so this time, so we legitimately think that the movement is going to be very popular”, predicted on Tuesday the president of the UFML union, Jérôme Marty. This protest movement, which biologists have also announced they are joining, could last. According to the collective, a new closing of the cabinets will take place between the end of the year holidays with possibly a “hard strike” from December 26.
However, are you sick on December 1 and 2? Several options are available to you, without going through the emergency services, reserved for vital emergencies, and congested by bronchiolitis, the flu and the increase in cases of Covid-19.
- Getting to the pharmacy: if your pharmacist is not a doctor, he can however give you an initial medical opinion, or even provide you with an over-the-counter medication to relieve your symptoms before you can consult;
- Consult your pediatrician. Pediatricians do not follow the strike movement of liberal doctors. However, they are very busy with the bronchiolitis epidemic. If you cannot obtain an appointment, you can however obtain medical advice by telephone;
- Try teleconsultation. If your attending physician has closed his practice, you can try to make a teleconsultation with a doctor available by video;
- Go to the on-call medical center. These medical structures are intended to ensure continuity of care and non-vital emergencies;
- Call SOS doctorwhich does not follow the national strike movement of liberal doctors.