walk-in practices, the solution to the shortage of doctors?

The building has just emerged from the ground northwest of Rennes (Ille-et-Vilaine). Inside, the waiting room is full and welcomes patients who have not found an available doctor. The “medalliance” medical center is equipped with an x-ray room and eight consultation cabins. Every day, except Sunday, one or two doctors welcome patients from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., without appointment. Before the consultation, an initial diagnosis is made by a nurse. General practitioners do not follow up on cases or make home visits. They stick to a consultation and a prescription.

Unclog emergency rooms

Walk-in centers are multiplying. In Brittany, around twenty have opened or will open in 2024. The idea is to take care of small traumas to relieve emergency room congestion. But the model is contested by some general practitioners, who deplore a lack of patient monitoring. According to the managers of these walk-in centers, the attendance is 70 patients per day. 30 to 40% of patients who go to the emergency room do so due to a lack of attending physicians.