January 22nd 2019, different organizations, such as union or group of patients or caregiver in the psychiatric field marched in Paris’ streets in order to denounce a lack of means in the french public psychiatry, and what they called the « spring of psychiatry » (Le printemps de la psychiatrie). This march was initiated by the collective « Pinel en lutte »,a group of caregivers from the Pinel Hospital in Amien, who started a struggle with the hospital management and the Regional health agency (Agence Régionale de santé) in June, 2018 to ask for more staff.
Today, December 2019, more than a year after the beginning of the strike in the Pinel hospital, and 10 months after the march for the revival of the french psychiatry, the field is still in crisis.
Moreover the ERs personnel are also joining the fight, with 239 services in strike as of September 2019. A report from two members of the french parliament (Caroline Fiat and Martine Wonner) was released on September 16th. In this report the two parliamentarian highlight different issues such as the lack of mean, or the influence of security movement which leads to new care constraints. They also suggest improvement axis like a new organization, and care homogenization. But it didn’t satisfied workers and unions, some of them pointed issues in the report such as the implication of the FondaMental foundation, the suggestion to employ private experts, or that the diagnosis is taking too much importance.
In November the 14th, a big strike and a protest march took place in the streets of Paris. That march gathered the psychiatric field but also other public health care workers and fireman, from various rank, ranging from chief doctors to nurses. At the same time, Emmanuel Macron (french president) gave a speech and asserted that he understood the arlm rang by health workers, and that the governement will give a strong answer to this problem.
November the 20th, the government presented his “hospital plan” which includes some increase in the heath budget, and annual bonus for health worker.
But the announcement didn’t calm down the anger, actually organizations, unions and workers denounced a poor and inadequate plan that isn’t enough for the big crises’ hospital is going through. They argue that the raise of 1,5 billion euros promised by the government is in reality a raise of 0.5 % of the health budget for example, clearly not enough.
Finally, the psychiatry’s crises spreads to all the public hospital, and we can think that the outcome of this big crises will determine our future health system.
Angèle PILLOT, Rebecca VINESSE, Wei XU