Just a note of clarification here. Thanks for sharing those maps, but there are many factors that go into what makes a "medical desert" - not just the number of doctors per 100,000 inhabitants. A couple of "jokers" to consider when looking at a generalized map like these:

Some areas have lots of medical doctors, but may have far too few of certain specialists. (Depends on what specialists you may require.)

Some areas appear to have enough medical doctors, but most are at or nearing retirement age and so they may not be taking on new patients.

Be sure to inquire about medical facilities - such as hospitals (public and private), clinics and other treatment facilities. It's not unheard of for patients from rural areas to wind up having to travel to Paris or other distant parts of to find surgeons or other specialized medical personnel to actually treat them once something has been diagnosed that requires treatment. (Relates too to recent government cost cutting measures that close hospitals in some areas. Particularly affects maternity facilities at public hospitals.)

Not trying to be a Debbie Downer here - but these are aspects of the "how good is the medical care in XYZ?" question you will want to consider.

 

Well, I can testify to the fact that medical care in Pau is very good and that there are plenty of specialists. The reality is that there still aren't enough, and a less-than-ideal number of physicians seems to be a problem in most parts of . Obviously, larger cities, especially those with medical schools, and their surrounding communities will offer better access to care.

The government is making a big push to deal with the problem, but it takes five years to get new doctors through medical school, and most don't want to practice in the middle of nowhere.

The number of generalists is still very important because they are the means by which specialists are accessed. It may be near impossible to get an appointment with a specialist on your own. Generalists taking new patients, even in, say, Bordeaux, are often just opening their practices.

Meanwhile, the ease of access to areas where there are specialists would be something to consider. There is, for example, a long wait here for certain specialists, but people can easily travel by train to Toulouse or Bordeaux or Bayonne to be seen more quickly.

For me, the availability of a hospital with emergency facilities is really important.

What's most helpful about the maps, I think, is that they indicate places that people with medical needs may want to avoid.

 

Can you post a link to the maps as the post does not allow to zoom in or out, etc. Thank you.

 

Unfortunately, I didn't save the link--just took screenshots of the maps. You might be able to find the article by Googling the newspaper SudOuest and "déserts médicaux."

 

I'll give it a try. Thanks.

 

The government is making a big push to deal with the problem, but it takes five years to get new doctors through medical school,

Actually, it takes ten years to get through med school and to the point of being able to practice.

Just an additional point. I come from Boston in the USA, which offers some of the best medical care in the world.

I'm from the Boston area, too. The medical systems in the US are very, very different from those in . Had a friend at university who was French, but grew up in the US. He went to med school in the US and was talking about doing his residency in - just to get back to the old country for a while. But dropped that plan when he found out how little doctors earn in . Still better than the average salaried worker - but not the multiples of average wage that doctors earn in the US. They are two very different systems.

Still, I prefer being here. (And yes, there are medical deserts in the US, too.)

 

Actually, it takes ten years to get through med school and to the point of being able to practice.

I'm from the Boston area, too. The medical systems in the US are very, very different from those in . Had a friend at university who was French, but grew up in the US. He went to med school in the US and was talking about doing his residency in - just to get back to the old country for a while. But dropped that plan when he found out how little doctors earn in . Still better than the average salaried worker - but not the multiples of average wage that doctors earn in the US. They are two very different systems.

Still, I prefer being here. (And yes, there are medical deserts in the US, too.)

Yes. Medical professionals here are definitely not in it for the money. The nurses have been amazing.

 

I personally never trust any of those maps because the data behind them always appears to be suspect, or even very suspect.

Of course it's every individual's choice as to whether they wish to rely on them.

You may not be aware that I frequently tune into Ici Béarn Bigorre so I definitely have a pretty good idea of what's going on in Pau.

I do hope you enjoyed all the demos by the taxi drivers in Pau, since those demonstrations occurred there because Bayrou, the Mayor is also the illegitimate by anyone's stands Pimr Minister of . Not only that, but he has been clearly demonstrated to be a liar (Betharram) and still has another impending trial against him in relation to the misappropriation of EU funds because the Parquet immediately appealed after his relaxation, although God knows how long it will take to have the trial scheduled.

Then there are all the thousands of doctors who don't agree with his approach and think it will make things worse or worse much worse (there are many reasons for this view.

 

The wife has been told to see a neurosurgeon, but before that she needs some sort of EKG-ish thingy from a Neurologist. The soonest appointment for a Neurologist we could find (in Lyon) was September. I said, "See if you can find an appointment in Paris. It's only two hours away (i.e. a day trip)" She found someone in Paris at the end of June. Oh the joys of having a high speed rail system...

 

Though if you travel to Paris from Pau you would usually take the TGV to eg Bordeaux and change trains but the TGV then goes to Montparnasse via a line that is fraught with huge delays. Oh the joys of a high speed rail system.

I have no idea why you can't find a timely application for an ECG in Lyon which is after all a major French city.

 

I have no idea why you can't find a timely application for an ECG in Lyon which is after all a major French city.

Besides the "usual" issue of doctor shortages everywhere (including Paris and the Ile de ) we are also heading into high vacation season. Many doctors take (and probably deserve) the entire month of July or the entire month of August off (or even mid July to mid August, which gives you a bonus public holiday on each end!). Scheduling critical appointments with specialists can be particularly difficult from June to the end of August as those appointments available are often booked months or even a full year in advance.

The moral of that story is: Don't get sick in August anywhere in !

 

Yes of course you're right. And then there is also an issue with the availability of blood products, often staeting even earlier and lasting longer if you are unfortunate enough to need a transfusion.

As an aside, I do recall that last summer most of the time you could only access the rmergency department at the Pau CHU if the SAMU took you there and that it was the SAMU that did the initial triage because of staff shortages linked to the summer holiday season. I do wonder how the Pau CHU can be classified as such when it is not linked to a university teaching hospital. Is that common in ?

 

I do wonder how the Pau CHU can be classified as such when it is not linked to a university teaching hospital. Is that common in ?

From what I can find out online, the "universitaire" part can refer to an agreement (or a bunch of agreements) with one or more universities, concerning both teaching and research.

 

For those who may not be aware how the taxi strike fits into the French health system it's because taxis have been used for some time now to transport patients to all sorts of medical appointment Ms, including eg chemotherapy, and the government now wants to pay them half the fee unless they transport 2 or more patients at a time, which amounts to a much longer trip and more difficult trip for many patients.