Public practice psychiatrists, through the voice of their unions – Inter-union for the defense of public psychiatry (IDEPP), Syndicate of public practice psychiatrists (SPEP), Syndicate of Hospital Psychiatrists (SPH) et trade union of psychiatryhyatria (USP) – , express their great disappointment following the last stage of the mental health and psychiatry roadmap, on March 3, presented by François Braun, Minister of Health and Prevention. They are now demanding the resumption of a real social dialogue and the immediate opening of the consultations announced. The press release dated March 15 can be read below.
We indicated in our joint press release of November 22, 2022 the advanced state of disrepair of public psychiatry. After two days of strike massively followed by public practicing psychiatrists, a meeting took place with the Minister of Health and Prevention on January 23, 2023. A series of meetings with the Ministry was then to begin with the aim of establishing a real consultation process restoring the attractiveness of the discipline and more favorable working conditions for health professionals. Instead, we learn without any prior consultation and through the press of the holding on Friday March 3, 2023 of a progress report and assessment of the “mental health and psychiatry” roadmap which will give rise to some nice hype and complacency while professionals are on their knees.
Among the flagship measures of the Assizes of Mental Health and Psychiatry, the failure of the My Psy device is denied behind a series of figures that are only promising in name. It should be remembered that this system is only intended for situations of “mild to moderate” mental suffering, is criticized by 93% of the profession concerned, that its funding displayed (660 million euros in total over the period 2022-2026) is far from actual funding (8 million euros in 2022). The creation over three years, widely announced and also widely expected in the field, of 400 FTEs in infant-juvenile medical-psychological centers and 400 FTEs in medical-psychological centres, is obviously very insufficient (far less than one FTE per sector) in more than being largely prevented by the medical and care shortage that the Government pretends to ignore.
The situation in hospitals is unbearable. Some departments (Mayenne in particular) are subject to an unprecedented shortage forcing forced “restructuring”, that is to say the closing of beds, structures and a forced deterioration of care.
Once again, we are indicating that we can no longer continue to work under such conditions: exponential constraints exerted on an increasingly reduced number of practitioners, impossibility of treating and providing the right care, de facto increase in situations of care under constraint and restraint, administrative overload… keep us further and further away from our core business, care.
A recent survey (more than 1200 responses from public service psychiatrists) indicates that in the month preceding this, more than 2/3 of professionals considered leaving the public hospital.
Today, it is no longer a question of selling hope to field professionals. The professionals of psychiatry deserve better than such contempt towards them as well as vis-à-vis the entire profession and its democratic constituted bodies including the representative unions.
The situation is that… of a breakdown in social dialogue while prospects for consultation were taking shape. We, public practice psychiatrists, demand the resumption of a real social dialogue and the immediate opening of the announced consultations.
Marie-José CORTÈS Delphine GLACHANT Norbert SKURNIK Michel TRIANTAFYLLOU
President of SPH President of USP President of IDEPP President of SPEP
• “The great contempt of the government for public Psychiatry”, press release, March 15, 2023.