In Poitiers, the hospital invests in a shopping mall to get closer to patients

Vyou changed my life. This is the nice message recently received by Peggy Huleux, presenter at the Poitiers University Hospital information point, which opened its doors in June 2023 in the shopping arcade of the Auchan hypermarket. The reason? “A gentleman came to see me, distraught. He had been fitted with a pacemaker and a heart monitoring device. He was worried, didn’t understand how it all worked…”

“Many people cannot reach the hospital”

Peggy called the cardiology nurse. Put the gentleman in contact with her. “Everything was explained to him and his anxiety was able to disappear. » From ? “When he goes shopping, he says hello to me every time. » This is the spirit of proximity of the place. “The idea is to meet users outside the establishment. »

The experiment works even beyond expectations. “Last Saturday we had twenty-six people. Yesterday, sixteen »notes Peggy Huleux. It must be said that the place is favorable: “There are four million visits per year to this gallery”specifies the CHU. So what is the role of the information point? “Help and support in making appointments for example, but also information on prevention workshops, and then any information relating to your health. » You can also come and update your health card since there is no pharmacy in this shopping mall.

Basically, everything you can’t find out through the hospital center, you find it in this shopping mall. The visitor profile? “Many elderly people who cannot get the CHU on the phone, who do not have the Internet to take their steps or who live in white areas. » Peggy is the link between them and the hospital establishment.

Now aged 53, Peggy Huleux was, for many years, an operating room nurse at Montmorillon hospital. Following health problems, he had to find a suitable position. That’s when the offer for the premises in Poitiers-Sud came through. She explains: “It’s very rewarding to work here. I feel the usefulness of the place. There is a strong bond that is created with people whose situations we sometimes truly resolve. »

Screening and prevention

Now, after a year of existence, the place wants to turn towards more “screening and prevention” with workshops run by the public health center, called Life and Health, and also with user association offices. There is no shortage of ideas.