Doctors' strike on 7 July to go ahead despite talks with health minister
Doctors’ union BVAS-ABSyM is sticking to its previously announced strike call for 7 July. A meeting on Thursday evening with federal Health minister Frank Vandenbroucke did not result in a breakthrough. The impact of the strike will be widely felt, but urgent care for patients will remain available.
The doctors' unions have been at loggerheads with Vandenbroucke for some time over reform plans concerning, among other things, fee supplements and the consultation model in healthcare. The minister wants to introduce a maximum ceiling on supplements in healthcare, to make healthcare more transparent and affordable.
According to doctors, the plans threaten to compromise the quality of care and the freedom of healthcare providers. Dissatisfaction is greatest among BVAS-ABSyM and Het Kartel (ASGB/GBO/MODES), which represent general practitioners and specialists, while general practitioners' association Domus Medica has taken a more moderate tone.
In the run-up to the consultation on Thursday evening, Vandenbroucke said he had passed “a long list” of amendments, but this proved insufficient to avert the announced strike on Monday.
“Although the amended text meets a number of the medical unions' demands, these are generally insufficient and difficult to implement in practice,” BVAS-ABSyM said on Friday. “The problem therefore remains unresolved.”
Hospital emergency services open
BVAS-ABSyM is calling on all doctors – general practitioners and specialists – in private practices and hospitals to treat only urgent care cases on 7 July from 8.00 until 18.00 and to postpone anything that can be postponed.
The willingness to strike is greatest in hospitals, except for university hospitals. Emergency services in hospitals will remain open, however. Some hospitals will even operate as normal on Monday, while others will cancel all non-urgent procedures and still others will operate according to their Sunday schedule.
"Although the amended text meets a number of the medical unions' demands, these are generally insufficient and difficult to implement in practice"
People who have an appointment on Monday with a striking doctor or specialist should be contacted by the hospital to reschedule their appointment.
At the Jan Palfijn and Sint-Lucas hospitals in Ghent, the vast majority of doctors are expected to strike, though the emergency department team and paediatricians will all be working. At Ziekenhuizen aan de Stroom in Antwerp, approximately 35 per cent of doctors will down tools. Seven departments will switch entirely to minimum service and only urgent procedures and cancer treatments will continue.
The impact will be limited in university hospitals. At UZ Gent, consultations and treatments will continue as usual, but doctors will protest with an “alternative and constructive action”. At UZ Brussel, less than 5 per cent of doctors are expected to strike. At UZ Leuven, there will be no general doctors' strike, but some impact is expected because doctors have the right to strike individually.
GPs and dentists
GP association Domus Medica is not calling for a strike, but estimates that 15 to 20 per cent of general practitioners will do so anyway. Particularly in the Meetjesland region – in the northwest of East Flanders – and Hasselt, there seems to be a great willingness to strike. Many general practitioners in Geel and Oudenaarde are also expected to participate. Doctors are obliged to ensure continuity of care and to treat urgent cases.
Patients are asked not to go straight to the emergency services on Monday, but to consult their GP first. Those who have an appointment with their GP on Monday are advised to call before the weekend to ask whether that appointment will go ahead.
Flemish dental associations are also calling on their members to take action on Monday, for example by participating in the national “telephone action day”. Participating dentists will not be available by telephone on Monday. There will also be dentists who will stop work completely on Monday.
Federal Health minister Frank Vandenbroucke © BELGA PHOTO NICOLAS MAETERLINCK
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