“Here, we die earlier than elsewhere”, denounce the unions of retirees of Lozère

Les retraités dénoncent l'accès aux soins en Lozère. MIDI LIBRE – M. P

C’est une des conclusions d’un questionnaire envoyé aux retraités par les syndicats nationaux et notamment à ceux de Lozère, rendu publiques lors d’une conférence de presse jeudi 3 octobre 2024 à Mende.

It's a real bombshell that the Lozère retirees' unions, the group of 9, have thrown in the middle of the Blue Week for Seniors. During a press conference in Mende, Thursday, October 3, 2024, officials published the results of a questionnaire sent to retirees, at the national level and in Lozère, on access to care, last June.

Lozère, a medical desert that is growing

“Wealthy retirees leave the department, the others stay and die prematurely because they forgo care. Deaths two years earlier in Lozère, according to ARS figures”, expressed Sandrine Baumle (FGR-FP), Éric Marolot (CGT), Jean-Luc Dethoor (Solidaires) and Daniel Barlet (FSU).

Éric Marolot specified: “We think that the fact of consulting the general practitioner and specialist less than elsewhere is part of the problem.” Daniel Barlet completed the statement: “The number long-term illnesses is the same as at the national level. By not consulting, there will necessarily be fewer long-term illnesses. And for the same reasons, patients slip through the cracks of hospitalization."

The freezing of pensions for six months ?

The Barnier government has announced that it wants to freeze retirees' pensions until July 31, 2025. “The law says that our pensions are indexed. Three million retirees have less than €1,000 per month of pension. This accentuates the problem of access to care, commented union leaders. Everything we are being offered is unreasonable."

The Lozère medical desert would therefore force people to travel to Montpellier or Clermont to consult specialists: "To get medical transport, you have to dig into your pocket, at least at the beginning", still complains Éric Marolot. People give up and it ends up in hospital or in a company, it must be said.” “In Lozère, we have three cardiologists and they are about to leave, it's dramatic,” affirms one of the unionists. And no better for general practitioners (around fifty in Lozère), dermatologists and gynecologists.

“We will continue to take action”

“We are asking for a discussion on the Social Security Financing Bill (PLFSS) 2025. We will ask parliamentarians. That doctors and specialists be better distributed across the territory as for pharmacists or nurses, the recruitment of hospital doctors, emergency on-call duty. Departmental councils have paid doctors, as in Saône-et-Loire", the group comments. "And we will continue to take action at least until the PFSS is developed."

I subscribe to read the rest