Representatives of medical regulation assistants (ARM), Samu operators on strike in three quarters of the territory to demand in particular a salary “revaluation”, call to gather on September 7 in front of the Ministry of Health, they announced on Wednesday. .
At this stage, “the ARMs of 73 Samu (out of the 100 in France) are on indefinite strike”, according to a press release from the French Association of Medical Regulation Assistants, one of the two main organizations for this profession. “Having no news from Mr. (Aurélien) Rousseau, Minister of Health, Afarm calls on the ARMs to mobilize on September 7, 2023 at 11:00 a.m.”, in front of the ministry.
Started on July 3, the strike is rarely seen because the striking ARMs are, like many caregivers, generally assigned by the administration. In a period of high tension in emergency rooms, where the authorities are ordering patients to “call 15” as a first resort, ARMs are having to deal with a significant increase in activity, and are “exhausted”, denounces Afarm. They are demanding “recognition” of this “difficulty”, in particular via a monthly bonus of 100 euros that professionals from other emergency structures already receive, and details on new scales, promised by the authorities.
“We are understaffed, the problem is that our schools are only half full (…) Today, an ARM works day, night, weekend, puts his life aside somewhere, to 1,300 euros,” Alexandre Maluga, co-president of Afarm, denounced Tuesday on BFM Lyon. “We are still waiting for (the) answer (from Aurélien Rousseau) unfortunately. There is no date set, except by the director of the DGOS (General Directorate of Care Supply), who would like to see us at the end of September,” he added.
In a letter to the Minister of Health, the president of Action Praticiens Hôpital, Jean-François Cibien, also calls for them to be immediately granted this “risk bonus” that they are demanding. “ARMs are the heart, the hinge of our regulatory system. They have a particular function which, in a few years, has grown a lot (…) I consider that part of (their) demands are legitimate and we will work on it in the very next few weeks, ”promised mi -August Aurélien Rousseau, without specifying what claims he was referring to.
