'Medical deserts' are inspiring pension-age practitioners to pick up their stethoscopes again - but is it just a sticking plaster? CGTN's Ross Cullen reports – and explains why France spent half a century limiting medical student numbers.
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#France #MedicalDesert
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00:00In a cafe in the southern French town of Albi, we meet Yves Carcaille, a retired doctor.
00:08Over a cup of coffee, we discuss France's medical crisis, specifically the country's shortage of physicians.
00:15Determined to do something about it, Yves is now back at work, barely a year after hanging up his coat.
00:22I'm not sure that it will be a cure-all solution, but there is a workforce.
00:29Wherever you find retired doctors and if you ask them if they still want to work, they will say yes.
00:35The mayor of Albi approached Yves and he found a solution, successfully getting approval for a temporary clinic
00:42staffed entirely by retired doctors, the first of its kind in France.
00:48Yves heads off to his afternoon shift at the medical center he established.
00:52It's a familiar setting. He was a family doctor for five decades.
00:57In total, eight physicians aged between 65 and 79 are part of this center.
01:07We notice that we are starting to see that we are taking on more patients with chronic health problems.
01:13They come to us because they can't find a doctor or they don't get the answer that they are looking for.
01:19We have to adapt.
01:21The causes of the ill health of France's medical sector are many and as fewer students enroll for medical degrees,
01:28the average age of doctors is growing.
01:31There are not enough doctors for the medical demand. It's that simple.
01:37It's supply and demand. There is a much greater demand than health care provision.
01:42In the big cities, access to clinics is less of a problem, but the country's medical density is uneven.
01:49The so-called medical deserts are in smaller places like Albi.
01:53With the lack of qualified doctors, France has had to adapt with other health care professionals
01:59filling in some of the gaps outside their traditional remit.
02:03One example of how medical care expanded was during the pandemic when pharmacists gave coronavirus vaccinations.
02:12But more drastic measures have also been taken in medical deserts.
02:16Some hospitals have even closed their overnight emergency services.
02:20Other cities, such as Calais in the north and Paris, have opened similar centres and Yves hopes that more will be set up.
02:28But using retired, if willing, doctors is only a temporary solution for France's long-term and deep-rooted medical crisis.
02:37Ross Cullen, CGTN, in Albi, southern France.