Agnès Firmin Le Bodo, Minister Delegate in charge of Territorial Organization and Health Professions, underlines on franceinfo Monday that it is not a question of “prohibiting temporary work” but of fighting against excesses “unacceptable for the public hospital”.
“Asking 6,000 euros a day is no longer acceptable”, estimates Agnès Firmin-Le Bodo, Minister Delegate in charge of Territorial Organization and Health Professions, about the capping of salaries for temporary doctors. She was the guest of France Bleu Normandie (Seine-Maritime, Eure) on Monday April 3.
From today, the salaries of temporary doctors are capped at 1,390 euros gross for a 24-hour call. It is the application of the Rist law, voted in 2021, which comes into force on Monday.
Fight against “unacceptable” abuses
“It is not a question of prohibiting temporary work but of fighting against excesses which are unacceptable for the hospital, for the caregivers who work in the same department, explains Agnès Firmin Le Bodo. Asking 6,000 euros a day is no longer acceptable”.
These interim doctors are often essential to keep services open. But according to the minister, “ask 6,000 euros a day” while “in the same departments, you have practitioners who don’t even earn that per month” can no longer be tolerated.
“This represents an estimated cost of 1.5 billion euros in total. This money could be used to hire other professionals or make other investments in the hospital.”
Agnes Firmin-Le Bodoat franceinfo
The union of temporary doctors, the SNMRH (union of substitute doctors in hospitals) has drawn up a list of 300 services likely to close with this law. He is calling for a strike on Monday.
Regulate rather than prohibit
“It is not a question of prohibiting but of regulating”, repeats Minister Agnès Firmin Le Bodo. “Since the end of December we have asked the ARS (Regional Health Agencies, Editor’s note), to look on a case-by-case basis, hospital by hospital, at the services that could be in difficulty with the application of this law, continues the minister. At the time when I speak to you, they are not, I believe in the responsibility of practitioners. I want to salute the solidarity between hospitals and between city medicine and hospital medicine”.
“The public hospital is the money of the French, recalls the minister. We need to make healthcare professions more attractive, but we need to regulate against ethical and financial excesses which are not acceptable for public hospitals”.