Hospital Workers Rally to Protest Staffing Crisis, Service Cuts
Langogne, France – Approximately fifty hospital workers demonstrated Thursday, October 9th, protesting worsening conditions and staffing shortages at the Marine Labeaume Martin hospital and the Langogne hospital.The rally, organized by the hospital center’s CGT union as part of a national public service strike, underscored growing concerns over the quality of patient care and the well-being of healthcare professionals.
The demonstration highlights a deepening crisis in French public healthcare, fueled by budget constraints and a shrinking workforce. Workers fear these pressures will lead to reduced access to care and a decline in the standard of treatment for residents.The CGT is demanding increased investment in staffing and a reversal of planned financial measures they say will further erode services.
Workers established a visible presence in front of the Marine Labeaume Martin hospital entrance from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., distributing refreshments and displaying signs outlining their grievances. Marine Labeaume Martin, secretary of the hospital’s social committee (CSE), stated, “We are agents of the hospital public service and give of ourselves, physically, emotionally and psychologically.” She continued, “The users we support day after day deserve human care, accompanied by fulfilled and respected caregivers. The relationship with the residents does not exhaust us,on the other hand the mistreating system shaped by governments undermines our morale a little more every day.“
Specifically, union representatives cited extended work schedules, unfilled positions, and increasing patient loads - including the recent addition of around twenty patients transferred from the Auroux and Luc’s retirement home – as key factors contributing to staff burnout. They also protested a planned one-day reduction in uncompensated waiting time and a 10% decrease in daily allowances scheduled for March 2025. “It is certain that to be motivated, withdrawing salary is the best method,“ labeaume Martin asserted. ”Fewer and fewer staff and increasingly challenging access to care: this is the roadmap to saving money!“
The situation is mirrored at the Langogne hospital, were staff are bracing for the departure of a doctor in September 2026, a loss that threatens to further reduce the availability of medical beds.The CGT is urging both staff and patients to unite in demanding a “massive training and hiring plan” to safeguard the future of public health and social services and resist what they describe as a prioritization of profit over patient care.
