Rhône: the head of ambulance workers on hunger strike

An extreme mode of action, to alert the highest level of the State. Bruno Basset, nurse turned ambulance driver, now heads around twenty companies in the field of urgent medical transport. A sector “in great pain“he explains. This Thursday, he parked his small truck in front of the premises of the CPAM (Caisse Primaire d’Assurance Maladie) in Villeurbanne. A banner covers the windshield: “Paramedic on hunger strike“.

Tariff revaluations that are slow to arrive

Several reasons led him to come to this. “There is a lack of recognition, we are not heard. The tariff schedule for urgent medical transport has not been revised since 2008, even though the principle of an increase has been validated by the Health Insurance“, details Bruno Basset. The decree in question is ready to apply, but it has not yet been published.

Consequences of these procrastination according to him, a “desertification of the profession“which doesn’t attract so much anymore.”A paramedic to whom we will entrust human lives, newborns, the elderly, dialysis patients in a vehicle that costs 100,000 euros is paid 10.87 euros per hour. This is a gap that is not acceptable when we perform public service missions.“

According to him, there is a shortage of 140 professionals in his group, 1,000 in the Rhône.

Excluded from the Ségur de la Santé

“The fact of having been excluded from the Ségur de la Santé is yet another insult to the profession“, continues Bruno Basset.”Paramedics are state-certified caregivers, not rescuers. They provide more than 50% of urgent medical transport missions.“

Thus, he explains that out of 22 million emergency visits in France, 12% of patients are taken care of by an ambulance driver on request from SAMU.

During the health crisis, hospital activity calmed down, leading to a decline in the activity of ambulance workers. To compensate, the state paid aid, but the situation has changed. “The calculations have been redone, and today we must repay these aids. So this is the most total misunderstanding.”

In conjunction with both the Regional Health Agency and the CPAM, Bruno Basset says he has received the support of local elected officials whom he thanks. “But today, everyone is passing the buck. My cry of alarm is addressed to Olivier Véran, in Jean Castex’s office. It is to Emmanuel Macron that I address it. The dialogue is maintained, but now we must act.“