The Minister of Health and Prevention, was the guest of “8:30 am franceinfo”, Monday May 15, 2023.
François Braun, Minister of Health and Prevention, was the guest of the 8:30 a.m. franceinfoMonday, May 15, 2023. Non-vaccinated caregivers, HHC, emergencies, drug shortages… He answered questions from Marc Fauvelle and Salhia Brakhlia.
Return of non-vaccinated caregivers: “The ethics of the caregiver” is to “protect patients”
“The ethics of the caregiver is to protect themselves to protect patients”believes François Braun while caregivers not vaccinated against Covid-19 can return to their post on Monday, in particular at the hospital, if they wish. “We estimate around 3,000” the number of employees affected by this measure, i.e. “about 0.3% of the entire workforce of the public hospital servicesays the Minister. It’s quite difficult to have the exact figure”.
“A certain number have already made it known that they want to return to their service. Others, on the contrary, position themselves by saying that they will not return, that they have found another job”he explains.
HHC: ban in a few “weeks”
Hexahydrocannabinol (HHC) is a synthetic derivative of cannabis, made in the laboratory. It is sold in France legally in the form of flowers or vaping liquid. However, it has the same “significant psychotropic effects”warns the minister.
“He takes advantage of a classification flaw”There is “a hole in the racket that needs to be filled quickly”. The Minister of Health plans a ban “as quickly as possible”. “As soon as I have the opinion of scientists on this classification. It’s a matter of weeks”he says.
Decongestion of emergencies: “We will get there”
Emmanuel Macron has pledged to unclog hospital emergency services before the end of the year. “It is neither unrealistic nor untenable and we will get there”, assures François Braun. The Minister encourages patients to call 15 for better regulation. “Some departments that apply it for entry into all emergency departments in the department have shown a 20% decrease in emergency department attendance”, he says. Should it be made compulsory? “We will wonder whether it should be a little more reinforced or not”, he said. François Braun does not reject the idea of making the call of the 15th term compulsory.
The Minister also announces the launch of a recruitment campaign for medical regulation assistants: “We don’t have enough of them. We absolutely have to recruit them”he says. “We estimate at 2,000 or 3,000” positions to recruit “immediately to cover all of this healthcare access service”he says.
Salaries of interim doctors: “Put a stop” to “drifts”
Since April 3, in application of the so-called “Rist” law, the maximum salary for temporary doctors working in the public hospital is 1,390 euros gross for 24-hour care. For François Braun, it was urgent to act. “You have to be reasonable. There was a drift that had happened. We were getting to totally unacceptable things, to remuneration that could go up to €4,000 for 24 hours of work”he denounced. “We had to put a stop”he says.
Shortage of drugs: “We have a very large increase”
“We have a very strong increase in declarations, no rupture or shortage, but in any case a risk of rupture and shortage” drugs, confirms the Minister of Health. More than 3,000 drugs are in short supply, including cancer drugs and antiepileptics “It concerns the whole world, the whole of Europe”, says François Braun. France will establish a list of critical drugs “to focus on the production of these drugs, those that are essential”he explains.
For the pharmaceutical industry, one of the responses to the shortage is the rise in drug prices: “Under the aegis of the Prime Minister, a working group has been set up with manufacturers and professionals to see how to adapt our drug pricing policy”, he said. François Braun will meet this Monday at the Choose France summit in Versailles “a dozen” drug manufacturers: “I’m going to tell them: come and invest in France because France is a country that is actually working on its pricing policy, because France is an attractive country”he says.
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Find the entire “8:30 franceinfo” of Monday, May 15, 2023: