Politics. Nursing Reform: A New Step Taken in Parliament

MPs and senators reached an agreement on Tuesday on the proposed law concerning nurses , who will soon be able to carry out consultations, diagnoses and prescriptions , after final votes scheduled for mid-June in both chambers of Parliament.

Voted unanimously by the Assembly in March, then by the Senate at the beginning of May, the text was to be the subject of a joint committee (CMP) whose positive outcome was little in doubt .

Noted: "It is conclusive," indicated the president of the Senate's Social Affairs Committee, Philippe Mouiller (LR), only noting a few "clarification amendments" compared to the copy adopted by the upper house.

New practices for nurses

His counterpart in the Assembly, Frédéric Valletoux (Horizons), confirmed that the parliamentarians had arrived at a "nearly compliant" version, apart from "small adjustments which do not upset the balance" of the project, which he described as "a very good step forward, almost historic."

Validated therefore, the consecration of a "nursing consultation", of a "nursing diagnosis" and of a right to prescribe for certain examinations or medications, as well as the principle of a "negotiation on the remuneration" of these new responsibilities.

Also approved was the recognition of school nurses as an "independent nursing specialty," despite some reservations, such as those of the rapporteur in the Assembly, Nicole Dubré-Chirat. But "the most important part remains," notes the elected representative from Renaissance, emphasizing that "this text was eagerly awaited by the profession" - governed for more than twenty years by a simple decree that has become obsolete. All that remains is to ratify this agreement with two final votes, on June 10 in the Assembly and then on the 19th in the Senate, for the law to be promulgated at the very beginning of summer.