Visiting Yvelines, the new Minister of Health wants to “motivate” liberal doctors to take on more shifts

Frédéric Valletoux addressed the problem of access to care at night and on weekends during a visit on Wednesday evening to the Paris region.

“Good evening, I am the Minister of Health.” Newly appointed, Frédéric Valletoux feels obliged to present himself, Wednesday February 14, upon arriving at the on-call medical center in Montigny-le-Bretonneux, in Yvelines, for a visit which franceinfo was able to attend. The new Minister for Health came to talk about the lack of doctors in France and the solutions envisaged to strengthen access to care in particular at night and on weekends. To relieve hospital emergency services, he wants more private doctors to take their part in night and weekend shifts.

In this medical center, Dr Clément Javelle consults until midnight after a day of work at the office. Questioned by the minister about his organization, the doctor replied: “We don’t sleep much and maybe we don’t age very well.” Currently, 40% of private doctors are on call. This is much less than 10 or 20 years ago.

Encourage liberal doctors to take on more shifts

“You think that we can still, despite everything, try to push the fires ?”asks Frédéric Valletoux to the doctor. “Because the subject of ongoing care is sometimes, for some, a little sensitive”recognizes the minister. “We need to have a few more doctors”says Dr Clément Javelle.

“It’s very hard for the doctor who arrives to see that there are already 20 people in front of the door.”

Dr. Clément Javelle, private physician

at franceinfo

For the Minister for Health, doctors must better organize themselves to offer more slots in the evening and on weekends. “For now, I have been minister for five days and I wanted to see to what extent the Liberals can invent appropriate responses”he explains. “It is not a question of applying a single rule to the entire territory, it is just a question of trying to motivate, promote, make participation in guards more attractive”, explains Frédéric Valletoux. And if the liberal doctors do not succeed, the minister warns that he will force them to take on more guards.