0 801 90 45 00. Here is a number that the inhabitants of Phitiverais (north of the Loiret department) have come to know. Created in March 2020 by the local professional health community (CPTS) Beauce-Gâtinais, this free phone number is reserved for patients without an attending physician or those whose practitioner is not available.
When they call this number, a secretary is in charge of finding them an appointment with one of the 14 voluntary liberal doctors. They have undertaken to devote, in turn, two hours per day on call for this type of consultation.
But beware: this does not concern vital emergencies but rather care that requires a doctor’s consultation within 48 hours.
After more than a year of experimentation, the results of this unique system in France are very encouraging with 5,800 calls received and 2,000 consultations offered. On the patient side, it is a relief because, as this inhabitant, who leaves a consultation, says, “Finding a doctor in the Loiret is horrible! Everyone leaves, all the doctors are full. So there is only this number that we can call to have a doctor on call ”.
As for the doctors too, there is real satisfaction. “VShas made it possible to recreate and re-bond between us and to have more solidarity between health professionals confides Latifa Miqyass, instigator of the project, general practitioner and president of CPTS Beauce-Gâtinais. “And then, oWe are relieved to have a solution for our own patients when we are not available to see them. We know that they will be seen by one of our colleagues, that they will not be out of care and that is essential. “
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This system has several purposes: relieve emergency congestion, facilitate appointment scheduling and fight against medical desertification which is only increasing. In this territory of Beauce-Gâtinais alone, there are only 30 doctors left with an average age of 61 years. This area was chosen for the experiment because here, out of 80,000 inhabitants, 24,000 do not have an attending physician, a “record” in the department (which has nearly 680,000 inhabitants).
This dedicated telephone number is certainly not a panacea, but it has the merit of offering a solution to distraught patients who no longer know where to turn when they are sick. Unfortunately, this is an increasingly common situation in many French departments.
According to Health Insurance, the number of liberal general practitioners fell from 55,000 in 2005 to 52,500 in 2021. The density of general practitioners per capita has therefore also fallen: 91 general practitioners per 100,000 inhabitants in the 2000s against 78 today.
Quite logically, the rate of patients over 17 years of age who do not have an attending physician has increased from 9.8% in 2017 to 11% in 2021. These are therefore nearly 6 million French people who are not followed by a one and the same doctor. Admittedly, a good part is rather young and in good health. But among these people, some suffer from long-lasting ailments (diabetes, heart or respiratory failure, or even cancer), are over 70 years old or suffer from a chronic pathology. Leaving them without follow-up seems unlikely.
While some argue for allowing doctors to increase their patient base (the average for treating general practitioners is currently 850 patients) by calling on medical assistants, the device tested in the Gâtinais-Beauce offers an encouraging new perspective.
In 2022, it should be deployed more widely in the Loiret department, namely in Giennois, in the Jargeau-Châteauneuf-sur-Loire sector or even in Montargis.