March 22, 2016

In one in three departments now, liberal doctors are no longer numerous enough to provide a night call service, between 8 p.m. and 8 a.m.

Fewer and fewer doctors, fewer and fewer volunteers

Night guards, provided by private doctors, are less and less well insured in 31 French departments. After 8:00 p.m., in these departments such as Bas-Rhin, Corrèze, Creuse or Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, there is hardly any doctor’s office on call at night, to which a patient may be referred. by emergency services. Patients are therefore invited to go to the hospital, and when they cannot, they are taken care of by the fire brigade, a private ambulance or by an SMUR (emergency medical service and resuscitation).

In question, the decrease in the number of doctors in activity, in certain regions, and the demotivation of those who continue to practice, often aging. Night guards are in fact provided on a voluntary basis. Nationwide, 65% of physicians participate in the system, down from 2% last year.

112 and 15 provide permanent emergency care

The decrease in volunteering affects 25 departments. But at the same time, 6 departments have seen the number of volunteer doctors to participate in night shifts, increase.

Remember that everywhere in France, emergency services, reachable by means of 112 or 15, provide continuous care, even in the middle of the night. On the phone, a medical regulator from the SAMU assesses the problem submitted to him, and decides what should be done, namely, send an ambulance, or wait for the next morning. If the media occasionally report that a patient was not taken care of in time by the SAMU or the fire brigade, or that the seriousness of his condition was not correctly assessed during the call, it is necessary these are isolated cases, which should not dissuade requesting emergency services, if necessary, during the night.

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