He no longer has the right to make mistakes. Emmanuel Macron and the hospital, this is the story of a dialogue of the deaf since the beginning of the quinquennium. Exhausted, demotivated by three decades of rigor, healthcare staff no longer accept half-measures or medals. The President of the Republic understood this and changed gear during his surprise visit to the Parisian hospital of Pitié-Salpêtrière on May 15.
Challenged, sometimes harshly, by doctors and nurses, he promised not simple "Covid bonuses" but a lasting improvement in wages and careers. This will be the first pillar of a new health plan which also provides for investments, more flexible, “more decentralized” governance, and a new organization of the health system based on the territory. In short: more resources, more agility, fewer partitions.
But the real subject is wages. The promises are made, the method is laid, but the political reality is that this time it will not disappoint. This is what is at stake in the negotiations which will start at the Ministry of Health, avenue de Ségur in Paris, on May 25. Fearing empty promises, eleven unions, associations and collectives have just increased the pressure by announcing a "day of contained actions" on June 16.
"Olivier Véran must find the right path," explains a government adviser. On the budgetary aspect, we will have to drop money, but it's not just that, the hospital can also be better organized. "Less bureaucracy, more care!" This is what we should aim for, ”ignites another Walker. And, at the Elysée Palace, we state: “there are imbalances in the structure of spending. The Ségur de la santé will be a global plan. "
Faced with caregivers on the front line against the coronavirus, the Head of State acknowledged "an error in the strategy" of his health policy so far: the operation "my health 2022" and the two emergency plans worn at the time by Agnès Buzyn were too slow in their effects, although significant (premiums, historic increase in health spending, recovery of a third of the debt, etc.). The future "Ségur Plan" is therefore doomed to be massive and quick-acting.
The Elysée abounds: reorganizing the hospital, upgrading wages and careers, "it is a social demand demanded by all French people from their balconies every evening at 8 p.m. for two months. Wages are the prerequisite for trust. ” It is also a question of survival for the forced public hospital, for lack of being able to attract staff, close beds, or even services.
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VIDEO. At La Salpêtrière, Macron promises a revaluation "of remuneration and careers"
Now, the President of the Republic wants things to go quickly: the Minister of Health must specify this Wednesday morning after the Council of Ministers the method and schedule of consultations. Emmanuel Macron was very clear in front of his cabinet: he wants all of this to be completed before July 14. By making a personal commitment, he once again creates high expectations. The actions must now be up to par, otherwise disappointment will quickly wake up a challenge which is also in the deconfinement phase.
