Dry closings have been avoided. In the maternities of the department, as in the rest of the hospital services. Despite the entry into force on April 3 of the Rist law. By capping the remuneration of temporary doctors, the text provoked a movement of discontent and strikes by the practitioners concerned who…
Dry closings have been avoided. In the maternities of the department, as in the rest of the hospital services. Despite the entry into force on April 3 of the Rist law. By capping the remuneration of temporary doctors, the text provoked a movement of discontent and strikes by the practitioners concerned, which created empty boxes in the schedules.
The maternity of the Agen-Nérac hospital center (Chan), the most in difficulty, continues to operate. Including the department’s only neonatology service, housed within its walls and to which all eyes were turned. The activity was able to continue without the reinforcement, for a time envisaged, of Villeneuvois pediatricians.
Give and take
The measure, far from being without consequences for the Villeneuvois workforce, could have led to the temporary closure of the pediatric service and therefore of the maternity unit of the Lot Valley Health Center (PSVL). The hypothesis, taken seriously, quickly provoked demonstrations by elected officials and the inter-union reflecting fears for the care of patients in the Lot valley and the north of the department, even the medium-term sustainability of the service. .
“No obligation is imposed on Villeneuvois health professionals. It would be counterproductive.”
“The position of the ARS is clear. We want to maintain the local offer on the three sites of Agen, Villeneuve and Marmande”, assures Joris Jonon. The departmental director is delighted to note that the supply of hospital care has held up in the department. For now at least. “We have little visibility for the next few months. We will have to continue to recruit, even to retain temporary workers…”
The task is difficult. Witness the difficulties encountered by the maternity hospital in Sarlat, in the Dordogne, closed until at least mid-April. Cooperation between the Lot-et-Garonne establishments remains privileged. “It is necessary in the field of medical resources. It should be natural and logical. It is in the foundations of the Territory Hospital Group (GHT), recalls Joris Jonon. We must share the means to build a care chain. “The director of the departmental branch of the ARS illustrates his words:” Villeneuve helps Agen in pediatrics. Agen helps Villeneuve in medical time of obstetrics gynecology. It works both ways. »
Solidarity without borders?
What if it doesn’t work? “Cooperation as thought of today does not involve any coercive measure. No obligation is imposed on Villeneuvois health professionals. It would be counterproductive. “The hypothesis of temporarily closing services not being studied, another option is looming. It would consist in widening the radius of the call for help.
“If cooperation were to erode locally, there would be the possibility for the Agen-Nérac Hospital Center (Chan) to recruit pediatricians or even to consider solidarity beyond the Lot-et-Garonne borders. Asked about this a fortnight ago, the director of the ARS, Benoît Elboode, was reluctant to initiate this option. The context, obviously, imposes not to close any door.
