The town of Belfort has a new medical practice. It is located in the former music conservatory, rue Cardinal Mazarin.
Finally, Marian’s ordeal will end. He has been looking for a doctor for months, “I have so much back and ear pain, but I can’t find a GP. When I try to make an appointment, we get one two to three months later”. Lucky for us, Dr. Anthony Prando is still taking patients, but not for long. “Unfortunately, it’s first come, first served. In the very short term, I won’t be able to take any more because I’ll be overwhelmed.”. For a week now, the phone has been ringing, “We are getting almost 150 calls per day.”
Medical deserts also affect urban areas
In the city centre of Belfort, many of the residents we met do not have a primary care physician. For some, their doctor has already retired, for others, they have just arrived and finding a new doctor is impossible. At Anthony Prando’s office, patients are coming in for this very reason and appointment times are already skyrocketing. “We’ve been officially open for about two weeks now, explains Doctor Prando, and the deadlines are almost more than a month now and for renewals, we will easily be two months, excluding emergency slots which are reserved for emergencies.”
Appointments can be made on Doctolib or by calling “Le cabinet médical des arts”. The doctor insists: if you cannot keep your appointment, you must absolutely notify us in order to free up the slot.
