Bernaville has finally found the second general practitioner he has been missing for over a year! The small town in the north of the Somme had been looking for a practitioner since the previous one left in October 2023 and the search turned out to be quite long and tedious. “It didn’t happen easily”explain the mayor of Bernaville, Christelle Leclercq. “Classically, we put up advertisements to find a liberal, we had a few touches but nothing materialized”remembers the chosen one.
The long search for a doctor
The municipal council then decided to call on a recruitment firm. “At the start, they had the same difficulties in finding something, until they suggested moving towards paid employment.” If certain structures linked to the public sector, such as rural home help associations (ADMR), directly pay practitioners, this model is very rare in town halls.
“We decided to take the plunge,” explains Christelle Leclercq. And the search for a doctor worked straight away. “We very quickly established contact with Doctor Heershan Harnaran.” However, once the solution was found, the mayor had to overcome other obstacles. “We had to transform the medical center into a health center for legal reasons. And above all we had to convince the Regional Health Agency (ARS) and Health Insurance. He is the first employed doctor in the department, so that took a little time.”
The administrative burden managed by the town hall
But Doctor Heershan Harnaran has set his boxes in Bernaville. Since Friday, he has been holding consultations without thinking “only for patients, only for patients.” Because the big advantage of being an employee in this way is that the town hall takes care of all the administration. “As a freelancer, these tasks, accounting, expenses etc. can take the equivalent of at least half a day, or even a whole day”explains the practitioner who practices here three days a week and who shares his time with his activity at the medical university in Amiens.
The doctor is paid directly by the Bernaville town hall who does not wish to communicate his salary but reminds that “each consultation paid by a patient ends up in the municipal coffers.” The town hall has also invested at least 15,000 euros for new medical equipment without any outside help. But Christelle Leclercq assumes and hopes to find her way financially.
“It was in any case essential for the continuity of care in the territory, not only in Bernaville but also in the surrounding communities. And every day, we heard but when a doctor will arrive etc. So if today the mode practice of doctors is this one, we have no choice and we have to adapt. It's that or nothing.”
