one in four French people have difficulty consulting a general practitioner

A map of theUFC-Que choosing reveals that the shortage of doctors is not confined to rural areas. More than 15 million French people have difficult access to a general practitioner, which represents one in four French people. The finding is just as worrying or even more so for essential specialties. “Who can do without an ophthalmologist? Controlling one’s eyesight is the BABA, and that, fromchildhood . 25 million people face these difficulties. These patients are between a 30 to 45 minute drive from the specialist“, explains Sandrine Aramon on the set of 12/13, Tuesday, November 8. The most significant access difficulties concern paediatricians: 52.4% of children aged 0 to 10 now live in a medical desert in France.

Another problem: the cost of the consultation. “Example with gynecologists. In 2020, nearly 70% of them already practiced excess fees. If we use this criterion: 54.7% of women live in a gynecological medical desert. It is impossible for them to obtain a consultation at the rate reimbursed in full by Social Security”continues the journalist. More generally, 29% of the French people questioned waive treatment in the event of exceeding fees. To deal with this, there are health centers bringing together several specialists. Emmanuel Macron wants to encourage young retired doctors to continue working. Experienced nurses can now prescribe medication and see patients for “benign illnesses”. “The government wants to impose an additional year of training in a medical desert for interns in general medicine. The measure, recently adopted, does not pass with the students concerned”concludes Sandrine Aramon.