What is the situation in Hot Areej?
It’s getting better near Ax-les-Thermes, where two doctors are expected to set up shop soon. One is in the Ax nursing home, alongside Dr. Goubay, and the other is in Doctor Gay’s former clinic. The situation in Donezan is stable and in Val-de-Sos the multidisciplinary health center (MSP) is functioning perfectly with 3 doctors. On the other hand, it will deteriorate in the sanitary basin of the Luzenac-Les Cabannes sector.
the reasons ?
The last liberal practicing doctor has just informed me that he will be leaving definitively on December 31, the medical office in Luzenac to settle in Belista. Even if it plans to follow up on older and more isolated patients, a health complex in that sector will not have a physician on January 1, 2023.
What are the measures to combat desertification?
First, the help of certified doctors. We did it for Luzenac and Ax and we’ll do it for Val-de-Sos (an accessory project). Then, even if it was not part of its remit, the CCHA got involved in the search for physicians by commissioning a staffing firm. I also rely on the new Public Interest Group (GIP), “My Health, My Region” created by the Occitani Region, a real tool for pooling resources to install paid doctors in the health center of Les Cabanes. Furthermore, I would like to stress the state’s administrative obstruction to recognizing the right to practice in France for foreign doctors.
Do you keep hope?
naturally. Even if it takes longer than I would like, all the actions we take alone or with our partners will pay off. We are also working on a regional organization for January 1, 2023.
Which ?
Together with health professionals, we are creating a telemedicine/teleconsultation and home platform. The aim is to allow, from January 2023, people in the territory without a doctor to have access to a general practitioner. To this end, I will be proposing to the local community council in December, our support for funding for this project put forward by the Association of Health Professionals. Once validated, I will submit the device. As you can see, we are doing everything we can to give everyone in the area access to a range of quality local care. This is why I will not allow it to be said or written that the elected officials and technicians of the CCHA do nothing and have not done anything to combat medical desertification.
