Doctors denounce a “rise in aggression” and demand “urgent measures to protect them”

Les médecins pointent un phénomène “alarmant”. Midi Libre – MICHAEL ESDOURRUBAILH

Ten unions of independent doctors denounce an "alarming" phenomenon after the violent attack suffered by a young general practitioner in her office in the northern districts of Marseille, in the Bouches-du-Rhône, on August 12. A young woman is to be tried this Thursday in immediate appearance.

Ten unions of independent doctors call on the government to take "urgent measures to protect them", after the attack of a general practitioner in her office in the northern districts of Marseille, in the Bouches-du-Rhône, on August 12.

This young doctor, violently beaten by a 19-year-old woman (who will be tried this Thursday), after her refusal to write a prescription for a person who was not present, was given four days of total incapacity for work (ITT).

This case painfully illustrates, according to the unions, the "unacceptable" rise in violence against caregivers.

"The number of attacks on doctors and, more broadly, on healthcare professionals in France has reached an alarming level, endangering not only their safety, but also the quality of care”, they denounce in a press release published on August 27.

23% increase over one year

An approach supported by the six representative organizations of the profession, MG France, CSMF, Avenir Spé-Le Bloc, SML, UFML-S, FMF.

According to data made public by the Order of Physicians, violence against practitioners increased by 23% in 2022 compared to 2021.

Refusal to prescribe, difficulty in getting an appointment, diagnosis called into question… the context is often the same.

“A deep crisis”

Under pressure from caregivers, the government announced a plan in September 2023, deploying an awareness campaign, training and even alert systems.

The sanctions incurred by the perpetrators had also been toughened. Measures "necessary", but "not sufficient", deplore the unions.

This persistent phenomenon "testifies to a deep crisis" and "the lack of will to invest in health leads to a shortage of caregivers and consequently longer consultation times, a shortage of medicines, a lack of hospital beds, all of which inexorably causes an increase in ’aggressiveness", the profession believes. Who says they refuse to "pay the price for the dilapidated health system".