Listening through a social stethoscope: MPLP health workers are redefining care in Belgium: People’s Dispatch

The staff of the Medics for People (MPLP/GVHV) health center in the Derne district of Antwerp are currently providing care from an alternative location and are expanding their original building. The idea behind the reconstruction is to create a place where patients can receive care but also access health workers and participate in planning joint actions to improve the health situation in Belgium.

The social determinants of health are one of the central concepts by which medicine is organized for the work of the people. Physicians, nurses, and other workers employed by the MPLP play an active role in organizing at the community level, strengthening public infrastructure, and advocating for workers’ rights. In fact, the health centers run by Medics for People are being fought for better living conditions.

This was also true for the health center in Derne, the second such facility since the establishment of Medics for the People. set out In 1971. At the time of its creation, a group of left-wing lawyers launched a campaign to protect the public park. The medics went into the same building with the lawyers and attended to the health needs of the people in the area. As the lawyers moved to other areas, the medics stayed behind to build a different model for providing primary care to people in the district.

Workplace equality and disciplinary differences for the benefit of patients

Even today, people enter the health center knowing that they will not pay for the consultation. This is not common in Belgium. In many general practices and health centers, patients are required to pay upfront, which means that those who cannot afford to do so have difficulty accessing care. In Belgium, 900,000 people postpone care every year for financial reasons. Health workers at Medics for People Centers know this is an effect of the current system, which prioritizes the idea of ​​commercialized health care over human well-being.

The fact that the health center in Derne, like other medical professionals, can provide care without asking for money from patients is related to its internal structure. The funds that enable the center to operate are a combination of capitation and health insurance fees, as is the case with many other activities in Belgium. But instead of using the money to cover the two highest earners and use the rest for day-to-day operations, they will evenly distribute the money to cover their staff’s salaries and provide types of care that are rarely provided at the primary care level. Limited resources or cost concerns, such as consultation with psychologists.

“We follow the national agreement to determine the salary of health care workers in the organization. In practice, this means that doctors in the health center have a lower salary than other doctors. The idea behind it is to protect the rights of all workers and strengthen equality in the workplace,” said Sophie Blancke, one of the doctors at the Durne Center. she said.

As Blanke moves into the center’s temporary building, most of the staff are already on their way to Ostend to run the Medics for People program. Manifesto. But a team of psychologists, nurses, receptionists and doctors are still there to take care of the patients in the waiting rooms. For the past 10 years, the center has focused on building interdisciplinary teams. Now, they are moving away from the narrative where the doctor is considered the center of the health system and others are only seen as extra profit. However, this is not a trivial matter as other health institutions are still struggling with this concept.

Many nurses who joined the health center after working in the hospital wards were surprised to be asked to play an active role in the care process. “Nurses have different expertise compared to doctors. For example, they know more about wound care than I do. So it’s great to be able to work together on an equal footing, each with our own expertise, for the benefit of patients,” says Blanke.

Medics are another group of workers who are trying to empower the public at the moment. The goal, Blanke explained, is to provide the receivers with thorough training that will enable them to perform an effective detection job. “Receptionists play a key role in making sure people get the care they need. If they have enough training for Trinity, they can make sure the patient gets the care they need as quickly as possible,” she said.

Health as a political question

The Medics for People Durne Center has a total of 30 employees, including Blanc. Some of them came to know the organization through university placements, while others arrived after working in other health facilities. “Before I came to Medics for the People, I worked for another group practice in Flanders. The doctors at that practice were also very dedicated to taking care of their patients. But the difference that Medics for the People brings to the table is the recognition of health as a political topic,” Blanc said.

When talking to health professionals from Dorne and other medical professionals for population centers, it is immediately clear that their services are very different from the regular medical professionals. Instead, they are on the road with their patients, they look at their living and working conditions, and they always want to improve them. One of the current focus areas For medics, it is the relationship between work and health for people. During consultation, health professionals at the organization’s centers will understand information about how the workforce ends up in labor, especially in the case of cashiers, cleaners or temporary workers. However, in cooperation with the workers and trade unions, they push for change and publicize their findings.

Blank refers to this technique as “listening with a social stethoscope”—listening carefully, scanning, and prompting action based on people’s needs. The technique should not be mistaken for a purely theoretical approach. In the Antwerp area alone, health activists from Medics for the People and the local community have won a decade-long battle against a highly polluted highway. Similarly, the government has been slow to carry out surveillance, monitoring and testing for Covid-19 as it lags behind. Derne Health Center staff established a pilot center at a local church after it was found to be the most suitable in terms of space requirements.

As the organization grows, Medics remain committed to the public health workforce’s understanding of public health. They also remain steadfast in their political interpretation of health. With their strong ties to the Belgian Workers’ Party and the communities they work in, they have been able to mount protests despite a difficult winter for workers in Belgium. The important thing for medics to the public is to remember that health workers have a dual role in building a healthy society. As Medics for People president Janneke Ronse said in a recent statement on the organization’s vision paper: “You cure disease in your consulting room. Together, in action, you save the entire society.

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