Par
Nicolas Segura
Published on
Nov 15 2024 at 5:26 p.m
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The La Ferrière-aux-Étangs pharmacy (Orne) hosts a cable car on its premises, from the mid-October 2024. It was placed there following the announcement of the departure of Doctor Cortès at the end of the year. This installation allows residents to have a remote consultation. “It does not replace a real doctor,” according to the pharmacy teamwho regrets the fact that there will soon be no more doctors in the village.
A cabin in place of the doctor: the bare minimum?
Mayor Vincent Beaumont had a rant after the departure of Doctor Cortès. To try to respond to this problem linked to medical desertification, the municipality's pharmacy has equipped itself, at his expensea gondola.
“We had no other solution. La Ferrière is a village of 1,500 inhabitants. Without a doctor, she finds herself destitute…,” says the staff. The cabin should remain “additional”, according to the team, even if it brings a “breath of oxygen” to certain residents.
How does it work?
Installed inside the pharmacy, this cable car allows you to have a general practitioner, a pulmonologist or a dermatologist make an appointment remotely, for a wait of on average 15-20 minutes (in the virtual waiting room) . It is possible to have made an appointment in advance for teleconsultation on the Doctolib platform.
To use it, you must create an account with an email address, remembering to bring your vital card and your credit card (for the mutual part). Please note that you need one email address per person.
Tools are available in the cabin for the patient: blood pressure monitor, oximeter, thermometer, stethoscope, otoscope, dermatoscope.
This tool appears to have was well received by patients. “In general, it’s relatively quick though. They are happy to have someone to talk to. This creates relief. »
The machine has limits
He still has his limits compared to a traditional appointment with a doctor. For example, there is no possibility of stopping for more than three days, “which corresponds to the social security waiting period”.
The other weak point is also everything that concerns physical examsor the detection of odors, which can lead to suspicion of certain diseases. Monitoring of treatments is also not the same remotely. “Similarly, digital is not the solution for everyone. »
We have certain medications for nerve damage, or for pain, which are not supposed to be prescribed during teleconsultation.
Obviously, the departure of the doctor and the appearance of this cable car are linked, but it is rather a emergency solution than anything else: “When we see that there are 90,000 general practitioners registered with the Council of the Order of Physicians and that there are 20,000 pharmacies in France, we could have four doctors per pharmacy…”
The pharmacy had to reduce its staff
Medical desertification is a reality according to the staff, who would like “everyone to have access to care in a timely manner. fair ».
The cabin is a solution to relieve congestion in emergencies. Today, in La Ferté-Macé, when people call, they are told to go to a pharmacy where there is a cable car.
The pharmacy observed a “mediocre” record during the previous financial year. The reasons? “When we didn't have a cable car, patients had to go elsewhere, to other pharmacies. »
Doctor Cortès is, for the moment, present three half days per week, “it’s not excessive. And when they go to other doctors, in other villages, for bobology, they generally go to the next pharmacy…”
As a result, the pharmacy of La Ferrière had to reduce the workforce and restructure. “It wasn’t comfort, it was protection. »
Competition between territories for welcoming doctors
This competition between territories is annoying. The municipalities of Orne are mainly located in the system France rural areas revitalizationbut La Ferrière is not one of them.
However, it allows communities and professionals wishing to settle in the area to benefit fromtax advantages. “Being outside an FRR zone does not make a doctor want to settle down,” regrets the pharmacy team.
Mayor Vincent Beaumont therefore put in place special aid in 2020 to improve the attraction of La Ferrière.
Doctor Cortès is billed only in proportion to his occupancy rate in the office. That is to say that every month, he is billed three tenths of the €520 rent.
To react after the announcement of this upcoming departure, the municipality decided to publish its own recruitment ad from a doctor in La Ferrière-aux-Étangs.
“We are trying to highlight our town… It must be said that there are many things here, for all ages, such as the nursing home, the school and all the shops or businesses…” underlines the pharmacy staff. While waiting for this arrival, the gondola “helps out”.
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