Since October 2, 2024, doctors have returned to Arnac-la-Poste, which was deprived of a medical presence for almost ten years. An original practice – where general medicine specialists, who come voluntarily from all over France take turns every week – opened in the town, at the initiative of the Médecins solidaires collective, with the support of the municipality.
The structure was inaugurated on January 16, 2025, in the presence of state representatives: the prefect François Pesneau, the sub-prefect of Bellac, Françoise Slinger-Cecotti, the departmental director of the Regional Health Agency (ARS) , Olivier Thenaille, and the elected officials. The ARS is one of the main financiers of the project.
An update with the initiator of this associative project, Martial Jardel.
What initial assessment do you make of this first opening in Haute-Vienne?
“It’s a pretty smooth start. We have not felt a rush for access to care as we have seen in other areas where we have opened practices. In Cher for example, near Saint-Amand-Montrond, there was an exceptional peak on the morning of the opening, where twenty people were queuing to make an appointment and we counted 800 calls on the telephone alone. first day. Here, in Arnac-la-Poste, that was not the case. Despite everything, activity is strong, and there is a current influx linked to flu and gastro. »
How does this attendance translate into the figures?
“As of January 10, 225 patients had chosen the health center as their treating doctor, 27% of whom are people with long-term illness (ALD). This clearly confirms the need to respond to the existing need and provide a solution to the medical desert. The center can follow up to 1,250 patients, so there is room. For comparison, our Bellegarde-en-Marche center, in Creuse, had also taken the time to find its rhythm… For the moment, even if the situation is perhaps less catastrophic than elsewhere, the balance is precarious and the problem of access to care is significant in the territory. We also have a lot of patients who come from neighboring Creuse. The increase in load is gradual. »
Your operation is based on the arrival of volunteer doctors. Is the schedule full for the coming months in Arnac-la-Poste?
“In November, across all of our seven centers, we had visibility of a month and a half, and there, we returned to schedules completed three months in advance. In Arnac-la-Poste, the schedule is even complete until May 2025: that’s reassuring. We realize that there are more tensions regarding the commitment of doctors during the winter. But no failures have been noted over the past weeks. »
-Since its start, has the health center evolved?
“We just reversed the waiting room and the secretariat, because the space was too small for the latter. It was the municipality's first idea, we had wanted to do differently, but ultimately, we changed our mind based on usage. The town hall was there and was super responsive. Since the association contacted it in June for an opening in September, the municipal team has really invested in making everything easier. This is valuable support. »
By the numbers
800 consultations provided between October 2, 2024 and January 10, 2025, in Arnac-la-Poste.
Of all the seven centers created by the Médecins solidaires collective, 33.000 consultations have been carried out in total since the opening of the first structure in 2022, in Creuse.
225 patients have chosen the Arnac-la-Poste health center as their treating doctor, 27% of whom are people with long-term illness (ALD).
550 general practitioners have joined the collective (a third are replacements, a third are active retirees, a third are established in private practice). On January 16, fifteen of them had already worked for a week at Arnac-la-Poste since the fall.
Comments collected by Hélène Pommier
