- Title: French health workers protest over working conditions
- Date: 8th November 2016
- Summary: VILLEJUIF, FRANCE (FILE - MARCH 4, 2015) (REUTERS) AMBULANCE LEAVING HOSPITAL DOCTOR ENTERING PATIENT ROOM VARIOUS OF HEALTH WORKERS WRITING NOTES VARIOUS OF HEALTH WORKERS ATTENDING TO PATIENT VARIOUS OF DOCTOR AND HEALTH WORKERS TALKING
- Embargoed: 23rd November 2016 11:35
- Keywords: France protest nurse hospital medicine health
- Location: PARIS AND VILLEJUIF, FRANCE
- City: PARIS AND VILLEJUIF, FRANCE
- Country: France
- Topics: Health/Medicine
- Reuters ID: LVA00357L456V
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Thousands of nurses and health sector employees protested over their working conditions in Paris on Tuesday (November 8) and in towns across France, saying patients' care was at risk after increased budget cuts and staff shortages.
Protesters, with many wearing scrubs and masks, carried signs reading "Patients in danger", "Care and keep quiet" and "Don't touch my hospital" as they marched along streets in Paris.
The demonstration came after a series of suicides of nurses over the summer, with protesters calling on the French government for greater support and salary increases.
"The hospital is on the edge of collapsing. We have seen dozens of suicide cases amongst employees over one year. And today we have the reforms, an austerity treatment, we no longer have the means to function, so we are fighting for the quality of care, for the quality of life at work and over today's health system which is on its last legs," Secretary-General of union "SUD Sante Sociaux" (SUD Social Health) Jean Vignes told Reuters Television.
Representative of virology workers Christelle Blonbou said hospital staff needed improved conditions to take care of patients in a dignified way.
"They need to be aware that workers are in the streets and if workers are in the streets it's not to cause a nuisance, it's to say that we cannot work in such conditions: with fewer staff, smaller budgets and to properly take care of patients in a dignified way. The people we care for are patients, vulnerable ones, weak people, and they are not just figures - they are human beings who are suffering, who are going through very difficult times in hospital and we need motivated people, many people to take care of them in the right way," she said.
The protest passed from Montparnasse to the French health ministry, and other rallies also took place throughout France, including in Montpellier, Toulouse, Nantes, Lyon, Bordeaux and Marseille. - Copyright Holder: FILE REUTERS (CAN SELL)
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