French health service: The state of emergency remains
The French health service remains in a state of emergency for the new 2024 school year.
This fact is confirmed by numerous publications, as well as by a recent survey which positions the health service as the No. 1 concern for the French population.
The Health service, a major concern for the French public
IFOP, the opinion pollster recently published a survey conducted on behalf of Sud Radio. Although it reflects a rise in optimism following a relatively mild summer and the enthusiasm generated by the Olympic Games, the survey places health as the top priority for the French people. 87% of those questioned quoted health as an “absolute priority” ahead of education (75%) and inflation (74%). By comparison, health accounted for 60% of replies in 2017 and 82% in 2020, at the time of the sanitary crisis associated with Covid 19.
In the details provided by the IFOP institute, inflexions were noted according to political opinions, age, place of residence, income and level of education, but no major differences. 84% of men and 89% of women, 83% of workers 91% non-workers, 85% residents in the Ile-de-France region and 87% of those living outside the Paris region quoted health as an “absolute priority”. The most notable inflexion concerned age: 78% of those under 35 years old and 90% of those aged 35 and over put health among the priority subjects for the coming months.
This represents an outstanding accord between the French, in a political situation often considered to be fragmented or even polarised.
Access to health care, an everyday concern
The FHF (French Hospitals Federation), which represents the public health establishments, issued a press release on 4th September which included the results of a flash survey. According to that, the situation remained stable during the summer for 46% of establishments or was degraded in 39% of them relative to 2023. The FHF recalls that “over the last twenty years, the activity in A&E has doubled to reach almost 22 million cases per year, of which 80 % are handled by public hospitals alone”.
The press release quotes two major difficulties which the public hospitals are confronting. The first concerns the capacity of the establishments, a factor cited by 66% of medicinal establishments. In fact, 6,700 beds were closed in 2022. The second difficulty: the inadequate numbers of medical staff according to 62% of those who contributed to the survey.
In order to face up to these difficulties in the wards, 64% of establishments have called upon their teams to work overtime, 31% applied reorientation on admission and 34% introduced prior regulation by the SAMU (emergency medical assistance service).
These overall figures are in agreement with articles in the press which highlight waiting times or the difficulties experienced by patients to obtain treatment. In a hospital in Brest, “127 patients over 75 were kept waiting for an average of twenty-three hours on a stretcher” (source Ouest France). The press reported the reduction in the number of junior hospital doctors (1500 less this year, a drop of around 15%) following a change in their selection procedure.
According to Ouest France “junior hospital doctors represent 40 % of the medical staff in hospitals. This reduction, even if temporary, will increase the work load and the duty times of the practitioners.” Le Monde published a short report “In the hospital of Carpentras, behind the scenes of the “triage” at the admissions to A&E.” This system, although it allows a degree of regulation to relieve the pressure on medical staff, also generates a great deal of incomprehension on the part of patients.
Health is a strong and shared concern for the French public. An improvement to the situation confronting the health system must remain a priority for the next government. This should exclude a return of any derivative such as the end-of-life bill which was being examined by the National Assembly prior to its dissolution.
