Guest of the “RTL-Le Figaro-M6 Grand Jury” this Sunday, the Minister of Health, Aurélien Rousseau, recalled that France was ready to send aid to Morocco by having “prepositioned means”, with doctors immediately available. Proposals to which the Cherifian kingdom has not yet responded. Receiving injured people does not seem to be on the agenda. “The request was not made, but it sometimes happens in these types of disasters,” he explains. But the battle is currently on the search for the wounded.
Referring to various current issues, Aurélien Rousseau notably specified that the ban on “puffs”, these disposable electronic cigarettes aimed at a young clientele, would be done from “early 2024”. A true Arlesian, already announced twice by her predecessor before the Prime Minister, Elisabeth Borne, recalled last week that the government would indeed proceed with this ban.
Regarding the reconciliation of budgetary imperatives with public health, the minister admitted that the increase in the price of the medical consultation to 26.5 euros “could only be a step”, particularly in the face of the inflation suffered by doctors like all the world, and that negotiations on this subject should quickly be resumed. To prevent health spending from continuing to soar, the Minister insists on the need for stricter control of sick leave and drug purchases. “When a doctor prescribes 3 to 4 times more sick leave than his colleagues, this justifies Medicare going to see”, he explains.
Aurélien Rousseau also answered questions about non-air-conditioned hospital services, the news of which has repeatedly reminded us of the unlivable side this summer during the heat wave. For the minister, at the end of the Ségur of the investment, that is to say within five years, “all the hospitals will be refreshed”. The minister also admitted that the issue of bed bugs was now a public health issue. The Boulogne-sur-Mer hospital recently had to close its doors to carry out a disinfestation. “Bedbugs are not related to a deplorable hygiene problem, it must be talked about, there are protocols and answers.” On the other hand, he was more discreet on the conditions of the participation of the State in the protection against this scourge.