The new Minister of Health, Agnès Buzyn, is involved in the fight against medical desertification. On June 29, 2017, she went to the Renazé nursing home (Pays de la Loire) to signify her commitment to officials working in the field.
The Minister of Health seeks to understand the problem on the ground
” I’m here to identify blockages and see what can be lifted as a brake “. Collected by our colleagues from West France, the intentions expressed by the new Minister of Health are clear. Through these first steps in the field upon taking office, it opens a listening cell in rural areas, where the population suffers from medical desertification.
In the small health center of Renazé, made up of six doctors and four nurses who also work at the nearest hospital, the staff seem relieved by the presence of the Minister of Health. “ Madam Minister, thank you for coming to see us and observe what is happening in the rural world “: the Mayor of the city, too, appreciates the way in which Agnès Buzyn accomplishes her work.
Managing budget envelopes can hamper solutions
Acknowledging that the management of budget envelopes does not always make it possible to properly advance current projects, the Minister of Health wishes to increase the number of nursing homes. Objective: facilitate access to healthcare for all – even in rural areas – and relieve the few health professionals who still live there.
In the Rénazée nursing home, the fifteen staff members take care of more than 8,000 patients. Ultimately, this visit therefore appears to be an essential prerequisite for the report that the Minister of Health was to make to Édouard Philippe, the Prime Minister. The latter will indeed deliver a speech on the government’s major action plans to Parliament on July 4, 2017.
Marie-Hélène Hérouart
