The decline in general practitioners is reaching a worrying level. The departmental advisors do not want to give up.
The health situation in Gard occupied a good part of the public session of the departmental council this Friday morning in Nîmes. The assembly notably presented a report on the state of health in the department. An alarming situation: “Le Gard is the department with the lowest medical density in Occitanie, with 1 general practitioner per 1,234 inhabitants”according to Graulen elected official and general practitioner Robert Crauste. According to the report, between 2020 and 2023, Gard saw its population increase by 12,000 inhabitants while the department lost 51 doctors, “i.e. 8% of the overall workforce”. And the same report emphasizes that to date, “48% of doctors working in Gard are over 60 years old”.
From the communist and vice-president Patrick Malavieille, who pointed out the “€5 million in additional savings announced by the Ministry of the Economy”, to the Republican Véronique Gardeur Bancel, worried to see the number of nurses (her profession) also falling, passing by the socialist and surgeon Alexandre Pissas, angry against Parcours sup, “destructive concept” of the motivation of students, everyone there went from his remarks.
Building on a shared observation, the department therefore presented a health plan for Gard, this Friday, which is intended to be a “stone in the building, a proactive act in order to reduce territorial inequalities in the medium term”, says Robert Crauste. In addition to the creation of a monitoring unit on the health offer in the Gard, the Department wants to develop attractiveness to attract doctors via a “graduated assistance according to the year of study during the medical internship, accommodation and transport allowances, continuing education. We also support medical and health centers”, explains Robert Crauste, who wants the general practitioner to be more than ever on the front line of the care pathway.
Denis Bouad on THT: “In this operation, not content with being cuckolded, we pay for the room”
The departmental council also expressed itself, forcefully, on two major issues. First on the protection of residents of the Rhône, after the State’s withdrawal of part of its commitments for the renovation of the dikes. He supports Symadrem and “asks the prefects of Bouches-du-Rhône and Gard to respect the commitments of the State and to submit to public inquiry, as soon as possible, the departmental authorization file relating to the reinforcement and limited decorating work of the dikes of the Petit Rhône. “This is essential work and, suddenly, everything is called into question,” exclaimed President Françoise Laurent-Perrigot, before the unanimous vote.
Second major subject: that of the route for the high voltage line between Jonquières Saint-Vincent and Fos-sur-Mer. A “environmental threat to our agriculture, our heritage, our living environment”says the mayor of Marguerittes and vice-president Rémi Nicolas. In a more flowery tone, senator Denis Bouad explains that all the gains are for Bouches-du-Rhône and the route is unfavorable for Gard: “In this operation, not content with being cuckolded, we pay for the room.” The wish for another route was voted unanimously. Just like a third wish, concerning Solvay in Salindres. “Once again, we are moving away from industrial employment for economic reasons and we are leaving 68 families behind.” The Rousson communist elected official calls on the government to “roll up our sleeves to reindustrialize this Seveso 2 site”.
