Private sector general practitioners in France, known as médecine libérale, have been called upon to continue their strike action this week, with a national day of protest set for Thursday.
The strike began on 26th December 2022 as the health professionals fight to have the price of a consultation increased across the country.
The collective ‘Doctors for tomorrow’ (Médecins pour demain) is planning a national protest for Thursday in Paris, between the Pantheon and the Ministry of Health, where they are expecting to be met by Health Minister François Braun.
“We contacted the minister before Christmas, he replied that he would receive us on 5th January without making any other proposal,” the founder of the collective, Christelle Audigier, told AFP.
She said a meeting request with Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne remained unanswered.
The health insurance industry estimates that there was a drop in GP activity of between 5 and 10% last week, while the collective puts the figure at around 70%.
The collective is demanding an increase in the price of a consultation to €50 in an effort to boost the number of younger professionals in rural areas.
‘Doctors for tomorrow’ has presented its own proposals to fight against “medical deserts”, advocating “ephemeral practices” in under-resourced areas and incentives to attract young practitioners.
The first week of 2023 is also seeing strike action by private medical biologists. Since Monday 2nd January, they have been called on to stop reporting Covid test results.
Photo source: Unsplash