France turns to retired doctors to address medical staffing shortfall

CGTN Europe

'Medical deserts' are inspiring pension-age practitioners to pick up their stethoscopes again - but is it just a sticking plaster? CGTN's Ross Cullen reports – and explains why France spent half a century limiting medical student numbers.   More: https://tinyurl.com/mb69jzkz  #France  #MedicalDesert

Transcript

00:00In a cafe in the southern French town of Albi, we meet Yves Carcaille, a retired doctor.

00:08Over a cup of coffee, we discuss France's medical crisis, specifically the country's shortage of physicians.

00:15Determined to do something about it, Yves is now back at work, barely a year after hanging up his coat.

00:22I'm not sure that it will be a cure-all solution, but there is a workforce.

00:29Wherever you find retired doctors and if you ask them if they still want to work, they will say yes.

00:35The mayor of Albi approached Yves and he found a solution, successfully getting approval for a temporary clinic

00:42staffed entirely by retired doctors, the first of its kind in France.

00:48Yves heads off to his afternoon shift at the medical center he established.

00:52It's a familiar setting. He was a family doctor for five decades.

00:57In total, eight physicians aged between 65 and 79 are part of this center.

01:07We notice that we are starting to see that we are taking on more patients with chronic health problems.

01:13They come to us because they can't find a doctor or they don't get the answer that they are looking for.

01:19We have to adapt.

01:21The causes of the ill health of France's medical sector are many and as fewer students enroll for medical degrees,

01:28the average age of doctors is growing.

01:31There are not enough doctors for the medical demand. It's that simple.

01:37It's supply and demand. There is a much greater demand than health care provision.

01:42In the big cities, access to clinics is less of a problem, but the country's medical density is uneven.

01:49The so-called medical deserts are in smaller places like Albi.

01:53With the lack of qualified doctors, France has had to adapt with other health care professionals

01:59filling in some of the gaps outside their traditional remit.

02:03One example of how medical care expanded was during the pandemic when pharmacists gave coronavirus vaccinations.

02:12But more drastic measures have also been taken in medical deserts.

02:16Some hospitals have even closed their overnight emergency services.

02:20Other cities, such as Calais in the north and Paris, have opened similar centres and Yves hopes that more will be set up.

02:28But using retired, if willing, doctors is only a temporary solution for France's long-term and deep-rooted medical crisis.

02:37Ross Cullen, CGTN, in Albi, southern France.

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