Our Urgence in Macon and at other hospitals in the area has gone on strike.
They are complaining of poor facilities, being understaffed and also being at risk from aggressive patients.
Is this action affecting you?
Isn’t the strike only symbolic in that they’re simply stopping work for just a few minutes.
Does highlight the state of the health service here which is now underfunded compared to a few years ago.
It was for Thursday morning from 7am.
I don’t suppose it will be the last time.
Having needed to treated for a potentially fatal illness in Urgence at Macon, I totally agree that the facilities need updating.
I was left on a trolley by myself for some time, I think about fifteen minutes, when I needed morphine, I was passing a gallstone and had pancreatitis.
The treatment in the hospital was excellent.
Sadly it appears that many emergency services at hospitals are in a crisis situation (no pun intended) with people left for many hours before they even get seen by a doctor.
Without going into details here, a few months ago there was a medical emergency that required urgent assessment by a doctor. Ambulance arrived quickly and broke all records getting to the hospital 70 kms away only to have 5 hour wait to see a doctor and have basic scans etc;. This for someone who had previously suffered from a stroke and was in a fragile condition !
Patients left on trolleys calling out for help, asking for the toilet and generally abandoned.
Can’t blame the staff, some years ago it wasn’t like this and I never thought to see it happen in France ! 
Perfectly normal Ann.
Cutbacks in spending plus job cuts in the public sector are now beginning to bite. Hollande (Sarko before him) started the rot and Macron has also vowed to cut the Fonctionnaires etc by 250000 if I recall. There was only Mr Melenchon who said he would actually increase the number of Fonctionnaires.
It really depends upon which type of fonctionaires.
I seem to remember Jim telling me that for productvity figures they were also included.
My D I L is a nurse in the local hospital and staffing on her ward has been cut.
This is nationwide (more or less). Most of the staff of the SMUR (Service Mobile d’Urgence et de réanimation) are protesting at lack of staff, at beds being cut and the lack of terms and conditions that take into account the specific of working in A&E. The issue that seems to have broken the camel’s back is that more and more GP’s and town doctors are cutting their services, so no longer do médecin de garde cover, home visits or out of hours appointments which funnels more people to A&E. My GP won’t do anything after 8pm or at weekends.
Our main town A&E has been closed all week, and people are having to be helicoptered elsewhere.
Exactly what is happening in many parts of the country since the cutbacks started.
We too are too far out of town and rely on the Pompiers or our car to get to Urgence.
It is very worrying, especially for older folk.
I think you are now like us in Bourgogne-Franche Comte, so the same seems to apply to all of us.