A country short of doctors: Exploring France's 'medical deserts' • FRANCE 24 English

The French healthcare system is often held up as an example for its quality of treatment and universality of coverage. But disparities exist across the country, with a severe shortage of doctors in certain areas seriously limiting access to care, a phenomenon the French call "medical deserts". Although the government has decided to increase the number of students accepted to medical school, this measure will take almost a decade to bear fruit. FRANCE 24's reporters Pauline Godart and Claire Paccalin went to find out what it's like to live and work in a "medical desert".
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[@dasmaurerle4347]

Compared with the UK, France isn't a desert but a lavish field of grass. But i get your point...

[@dasmaurerle4347]

@jko jko sure...bring a point? In France, it will take me 5 hours to see my gp

[@dasmaurerle4347]

@jko jko not 5 weeks

[@dasmaurerle4347]

@jko jko are you actually saying that French people are waiting longer? Really

[@anv6250]

@@dasmaurerle4347 Don't know about UK but in France it's 2 to 6 months to get an appointment for a dermatologist or dentist and you need to find one that accept new patient.

[@KamalAPerera]

They must attract international medical graduates to fill the gap, but there are barries like language, so they have to organize free language courses and translator facilitated consultation services...etc

[@skylongskylong1982]

What I could never figure out is the British NHS is the third largest Government Organisation in the world after the Chinese Army, and USA armed forces, but has the lowest number of Doctors, and Nurses in Europe!

[@Hurrehurra]

Nhs employs more managerial positions than actual medical staff on the ground.

[@OGCHUCK1]

This is what socialism get you

[@ozziegreen4850]

Under paid and over worked

[@manils35]

Medical Assistance is the State subject. In India we have many private run hospitals with qualified and experienced doctors, apart from Government run hospitals in almost every district. Medical tourism is very important aspect here.

[@jaaksavat7916]

Medical 'tourism' looking for a cheap kidney

[@amardave84]

Don't they have medical assistants to measure vitals? Why's the doctor measuring blood pressure?

[@UKindness4]

In Poitiers, France it was a nightmare when you have an emergency January 2023.

[@KamalAPerera]

That s true...

[@SK-lt1so]

Treat doctors like assembly line labor, what do you expect?

[@andratoma9834]

Who pays the doctors? The patients or the government?

[@pipocadoce97]

Do they pay healthcare workers well?

[@Critical-Thinker895]

no

[@DontFeedTheTrolls]

I'm pretty sure we had the same problem in USA until the started letting anyone with enough money to pay for college become a doctor of medicine.

[@jaaksavat7916]

@D Sharp French education system is a little different than the USA, they only allow a certain amount of people to become doctors, like so many other countries.

[@edgartolmie1809]

Doesn't France run a statutory health insurance (SHI) system providing universal coverage for its residents, which is financed through employee and employer contributions, and increasingly by earmarked taxes on a broad range of revenues? If so, why the Doctor shortage in France?

[@NazriB]

Lies again? Polite Home Delivery

[@user-bo6xk8ws7e]

Of course and ?

[@edgartolmie1809]

@user-bo6xk8ws7e so, France's socialized medical care has produced a Doctor shortage in France.

[@StressRUs]

In our fee-for-service medical system and public medical system, doctors and other medical professionals have been so depowered my "administrators" and insurance companies that most young physicians are basically incompetent due to lack of experience, which can only be gained over time and by spending the necessary time with our patients. Remember the old sot: "you get what you pay for".

[@lunes-1]

The🌏 world need urgently train thousands of new🧑‍⚕️👩‍⚕️👨‍⚕️ Doctors immediately,otherwise we are facing a Global catastrophic problem 🤔

[@carmenpeters728]

The world can take ours. none of them are worth the paper their diploma was printed on.

[@1989TS..]

No where is prefect.. no matter what the "media" wants to tell you..

[@andratoma9834]

Are doctors paid? Perhaps they should be paid more!

[@frederickwalzer5555]

of course, they are paid dumb. It is not about money; they made enough to survive.

[@IronFox365]

France needs Physician Assistant and Advance Registered Nurse Practitioners to close the gap. Free tuition will help.

[@GotoHere]

It’s not free dumb dumb. Someone is paying for it through their hard work, then the money is stolen in the form of taxes.

[@frederickwalzer5555]

@@GotoHere we know that dumb of dumbest. It is the state's job to provide those services with people's taxes.

[@Critical-Thinker895]

Both France and the UK have a national health care system. We in the US always hear about how great the system is but there are many news articles like this. I see that France takes in a lot of money from the people to pay for this. What are they spending the money on?

[@edwardpi9852]

Why not import doctors from overseas, especially from Ukraine.

[@Mayesyy]

The bureaucratic process is a nightmare. For an Australian doctor for example to move to France is near impossible and takes years. Exams, permits, house, finances, language. Just easier to stay put.

[@alexandregoncalves6066]

i am decendant of french king and iraq veteran hate me

[@PRmoustache88]

Ainsi qu'on dit en Amérique,

[@raedaltaee7358]

وضع ملك انكليزي على كتف الأيمن للبشر والانسان ومراجعة السجلات للملائكة العرب خاصة من مولد النبي محمد وحتى الان من الله والرب و(الخالق) Adviser creator

[@0401412740]

It's people the academic standards are too high..

[@chase123456ist]

4:30 shes got a binky at that age?? Lol thats what you get with socialized medicine.

[@mikeincalifornia]

The solution is more than obvious. Treat health care the same as every other business and occupation in the world is treated. Privatize it and allow medical professionals to charge whatever the market allows, with no limits at all. Allow doctors to make unlimited profits from their very hard work, just as every other type of professional can do, and there will never ever be any shortage of doctors. Stop telling the ninety percent of us who work hard and make good money that we can't get quality health care because we must pander to the poorest and laziest ten percent, that for some reason their needs are more important than everyone else's. It's absurd. You should be able to easily get an appt within a week, at most. Or even the next day. Yes, that is possible, if there's money to be made. There's no reason at all for people to wait. The free market will provide if we let it. Healthcare is not a "right" or a "privilege". It's a commodity and a service, no different in any way from every other type of commodity or service. Getting a doctors' appointment should be no more difficult or more expensive or different than getting an appointment to get your car tuned up. It should be as easy as making a restaurant reservation.

[@morgank7560]

lol

[@anv6250]

If I am really sad to see France deteriorate day by day and become a poor country due to a lot of thing including socialism, I still can't stand your point. What about those who work hard (probably even harder) at the bottom of the hierarchy in essential job ? Is that fair ? And even if you don't care about being fair, if they die, you die. What's the plan ?

[@frederickwalzer5555]

Health care is a right dvmb. Wars made health care a right; there is no step back.