France strongly confronted with medical deserts

For several years, medical deserts have been multiplying in France. However, some places are more affected than others. “Unsurprisingly, these are rural areas, [cela] affects a total of 1.7 million people. For example, in Ardèche, randomly, the village of Sanilhac. For the inhabitants, it is very difficult to obtain an appointment with the general practitioner less than 30 minutes from home, by car“, explains Jean-Paul Chapel.

If it is sometimes very difficult to find general practitioners, specialists are even more difficult to find in certain areas. Jean-Paul Chapel reveals that, when it comes to appointments with the ophthalmologist at the Social Security rate, he is “very hard to find an appointment within 30 minutes. In total, 41 million people (…) are affected by this phenomenon, i.e. nearly two thirds of the French population.“.