“The balance has been upset compared to what had been proposed by the government”, believes the Minister of Health

Frédéric Valletoux was the guest of “8h30 franceinfo”, Saturday May 25, 2024.

Frédéric Valletoux, Deputy Minister of Health and Prevention, was the guest of “8:30 a.m. franceinfo”, Saturday May 25, 2024. End of life, medical transport, “Sniffy” powder… He answers Jean-Rémi’s questions Baudot and Agathe Lambret.

End of life: “The balance has been disrupted”

“The balance of the text has been upset compared to what had been proposed by the government”, believes Frédéric Valletoux, after the adoption last week of the bill on the end of life in the special committee. A text which has undergone modifications moving it away from its original version and which arrives on Monday May 27 for first reading in the National Assembly.

The main change made by the deputies to the government text concerns a key point: the conditions required to have access to assisted dying. In the initial bill, patients suffering from “serious and incurable condition”with an engaged vital prognosis “short or medium term” could resort to assisted suicide. After the amendments of the deputies, the text now provides access for one person “suffering from a serious and incurable condition in an advanced or terminal phase”. Frédéric Valletoux spoke out against this rewriting, affirming that the text “has been distorted” And “hope that the hemicycle will return” on these amendments. Words which recall those of the president of the commission Agnès Firmin-Le Bodo, who was also hostile to this change. “Remove the short and medium term, very clearly, we are no longer in the same law at all”she had judged.

For Frédéric Valletoux, “the short and medium term vital prognosis refers to notions which are precise and which the healthcare world understands”. “The initial text was the result of slow maturation, a long consensus and a long work of explanation, dialogue, exchanges”recalled the Minister Delegate. “The government is not going to change its position”he assured, adding that the Minister of Health Catherine Vautrin “has already planned to table amendments to return to what was the initial writing of the text”.

Among the other changes made by the deputies, the passage of “exceptional euthanasia” to one “euthanasia of choice”. “Here too, I support all the amendments which will allow us to return to the initial text”ruled the Deputy Minister of Health. “I hope that Parliament will indeed regain the initial balance of the text”he concluded.

Medical transport: “Health will have to contribute to savings”

In this time of savings, the government is studying several avenues to reduce the cost of medical transportation, including shared journeys. “We continue to think and discuss,” assures Frédéric Valletoux, who recalls that“health will have to contribute to future economies”. The objective for the Minister Delegate for Health is to “spend better, chase away unnecessary spending, redundant spending”.

🔴Savings in Health ➡️ “Health will have to participate in savings (…) to drive away unnecessary spending, redundant spending,” warns Frédéric Valletoux. pic.twitter.com/e7KBha974j

— franceinfo (@franceinfo) May 25, 2024

Asked about the limits of medical carpooling, for example for immunocompromised patients, he recalls that “wanting to put several patients in the same vehicle is not the general principle, this is where we can do it, when possible, for patients who accept it.”

Sniffy: “ban” this “junk” which uses the codes of cocaine

“It’s infuriating. It’s infuriating to see this kind of product offered to young people”, reacts Frédéric Valletoux, Minister Delegate in charge of Health and Prevention. He discovered “48 hours ago” there “latest invention”a “smut that some people want to sell”. The minister refers to “Sniffy”, a powder which takes on the codes of cocaine. It is white, is absorbed through the nose and its promoters praise the effects “instant euphoric”. On sale over the counter in tobacco shops in France, it costs between 15 and 20 euros per gram.

“We must ban it as soon as we can. I will look at it with my services this weekend”says Frédéric Valletoux. “I promise you that I will be uncompromising”adds the minister who does not hide a form of weariness: “It’s a constant race against the sellers of death somewhere, they might be mad at me because the expression is a bit radical.” But when “we push young people” to consume this type of product, “that’s kind of the idea”assumes Frédéric Valletoux.

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