Attila has withdrawn government aid for fuel three times, and now the 132,000 self-employed nurses are warning of a direct threat to access to home care, especially in rural areas.
The anger is rising among self-employed nurses. In a statement released on Wednesday in Nîmes, the National Federation of Nurses (FNI) denounces their exclusion from the government’s fuel assistance schemes. This situation is even more incomprehensible as these professionals were explicitly mentioned as potential beneficiaries at the end of March. According to the FNI, this is no longer an oversight but a political choice. In less than a month, three successive announcements have left the 132,000 practitioners in the field sidelined, despite the explosion of their travel costs. These healthcare workers provide essential home care to the most vulnerable patients: the elderly, chronically ill, and patients discharged from hospitals.
In unjust and untenable circumstances, in territories like Gard or rural and mountainous areas, their rounds can stretch up to 200 kilometers a day. Every increase in fuel prices further weakens this close-knit healthcare network. In the long run, the FNI warns that some professionals may be forced to reduce their travels, to the detriment of the most isolated patients. The union also highlights an inequality in treatment with other professions, like transporters or farmers, who benefit from support schemes or tax breaks. This situation is deemed unjust and unsustainable, especially since over half of the fuel price paid by nurses goes towards taxes. In response to this, the FNI demands the implementation of a professional fuel tax, stating that it is both a matter of tax justice and a public health issue. Behind this demand, they emphasize that the continuity of home care is at stake.
