Millions of French people live in medical deserts, those areas where the density of health professionals is low. To remedy this situation, Prime Minister Edouard Philippe and Minister of Solidarity and Health Agnès Buzyn took advantage of the inauguration of a nursing home in Châlus (Haute-Vienne), to present their plan “for equal access to healthcare in the territories”.
400 million euros dedicated to nursing homes
On the program, four priority areas: strengthening the supply of care in regions in need, adapting to the digital revolution, reorganizing the health professions and encouraging local innovative initiatives. Among the notable measures, the government is committed, as Emmanuel Macron had promised during his campaign, to devote 400 million euros to homes and health centers, which will be doubled within five years. It also plans to develop the telemedecine, thus allowing patients to consult remotely. But that’s not all: doctors established in areas under stress will benefit from assistance with setting up or exercising and combining employment.retirement liberal doctors will be facilitated.
Other changes: the deployment of “advanced practices” whose objective is to help nurses acquire new skills. The government also wants to allow doctors to share their time between the city and thehospital, by creating 300 “shared assistant” positions. Will these measures be enough to overcome the medical deserts? For the time being, a little over 8% of the population lives in one of the 9,000 municipalities lacking general practitioners.
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