Since the beginning of September, the West Indian department has experienced a mobilization against the high cost of living, which degenerated into riots. The secretary general of the Regional Union of Liberal Doctors of Martinique describes “problems with the organization of care”.
:quality(50)/2023/07/07/64a7df4c5fe71_placeholder-36b69ec8.png)
Published
Reading time: 2 min
:quality(50)/2024/10/12/080-hl-ffontan-1513100-670aa2b492471998754637.jpg)
“Yes there are road blockages at roundabouts during the day, there are riots at night, fires and looting. People fear for their safety”admits on franceinfo doctor Etienne Briand, secretary general of the Regional Union of Liberal Physicians of Martinique, while the “road blockages” on the sidelines of demonstrations against the high cost of living, are putting the health system to the test.
“First recourse is degraded, home visits by nurses and doctors are difficult during the day and impossible at night. There is also the movement of patients to the hospital. The guard houses are closed at night and the pharmacies can no longer organize guards”worries Dr Etienne Briand.
The doctor recalls that Martinique “has been on a white plan since Thursday, there are staff problems in the operating theaters which with the white plan are subject to additional tension while Martinique has a shortage of caregivers”. There is “problems regarding the organization of care”. “We are afraid for dialysis patients, we must be aware of the fragility of the health system in Martinique and the costs that the current situation is inflicting on it”nevertheless “we do everything to be able to treat emergencies and we place particular emphasis on oncology to avoid loss of opportunity” survival, “treatment delays”.
The doctor recognizes that“There is a real problem of high cost of living which affects everyone, we have supply problems, a shortage of doctors of 30% and a drop in attractiveness which is due to the high cost of living.”
“We are all aware of the problem, it’s just the way we express it and act that poses problems for the health system.”
Dr Etienne Briandat franceinfo
Generally speaking, “we know how to take the measures, the Samu manages to circulate and paradoxically because of the blockages and the fact that families are at home to look after their children who do not go to school, we circulate quite well. SOS doctors manage to do work between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. but at night everything stops, it’s too dangerous”explains the secretary general of the Regional Union of Liberal Doctors of Martinique.