APRIL 2022 – A new period in our democratic life is beginning, and the expectations of the French people, after two years of pandemic, have probably never been so high with regard to their health system. They are worried about access to care, about the health of their children, about the sustainability of a model of which they are justly proud. They are torn between unshakeable confidence in health professionals and the impression that the principles of care are deteriorating.
In this context, the first actions taken by the Minister of Health will be closely scrutinised, as strong markers of his political action and as the framework of his vision for the future. For it is necessary to act quickly, in line with expectations.
The private hospital sector, through its ” Let’s vote Health (Votons Santé)!” action, was very present in the debates preceding the presidential election. No doubt there has never been so much talk of health in a campaign as there was in 2022, despite a tragic international context which has necessarily re-hierarchised the issues.
We are convinced that several subjects must be raised to the top of the hierarchy of priorities. For some of them, this conviction is shared with the other hospital federations, both public and private, and even with all the players in the health sector. A careful reading of the various “platforms” of proposals drawn up for the presidential election confirms this!
One of the major political priorities is obviously to double the training effort for health professionals, especially paramedics. The current shortages are just as harmful to carers as to patients.
Equal recognition of all health professionals, whether public or private, is a principle that must be upheld, particularly in the salary measures granted, because we need everyone to build the health care society of tomorrow.
Cooperation between actors of all ownerships within a renewed and modernised public health service is also an urgent area of reform for a response based on citizens’ needs. In this context, the emergence of a living territorial health democracy requires Regional Health Agencies to be refocused and strengthened in their role of regulating the supply of care.
The issues of quality and relevance of care must be reinvested, in a logic where the best practices are shared and valued, and where the patient has a say.
Finally, all the hospital federations agree on the need for multi-year financial visibility over five years, enabling health care institutions to plan for investment, innovation and commitment to prevention and public health.
The French Federation of Private Hospitals will be there to highlight the importance of the role of private hospitals and clinics in the care provision for French people, and to work constructively with the new Minister and his or her teams on all these issues for tomorrow.
