The UFC-Que Choisir association has filed an appeal before the Council of State to denounce the government’s “inaction” in the face of growing inequalities in access to care and to urge it to act, it announced on Tuesday. unveiling a study on the “dramatic worsening” of medical demographics.
“After years of negotiations with political decision-makers which remain unanswered, the UFC-Que Choisir today appeals to the Council of State to have the guilty government inaction noted and punished” and “defend the constitutional right to health” , writes the association in a press release. She denounces in particular “the stubborn refusal of the authorities to regulate the installation of doctors”, and invites the French to sign and “massively share” a petition.
Two criteria: the geographical distance of doctors and the prices charged
General practitioners, gynecologists, ophthalmologists, pediatricians: UFC-Que Choisir has updated its interactive map of inequalities in access to “direct access” doctors, developed in 2022 based on public data and scientific literature. “Unsurprisingly, medical desertification is increasing, due to increasing needs” and a “wave of retirements,” she observes.
The study crosses two criteria: the geographical distance of doctors – “deserts” being characterized by a density 60% lower than the average for specialists located less than 45 minutes by road, or 30 minutes for general practitioners – and the prices charged. Thus, 19.3% of French people reside in an ophthalmology medical desert, 24.8% of women in a gynecological medical desert and 28.9% of children in a pediatric medical desert, analyzes the UFC.
An “absolutely catastrophic” situation
By excluding practitioners who overcharge their fees, “the situation becomes absolutely catastrophic”: more than one child in two lives in a place deserted by pediatricians, 59.3% of French people in a medical desert for ophthalmologists, and 69.6% of women for gynecologists, deplores the UFC.
General practitioners are better distributed, with 2.6% of patients classified as medical desert, or 1.7 million people, to which the association adds 21% of patients with “difficult access” (density at least 30% lower than the average). Between 2021 and 2023, 44.4% of the population “saw accessibility to general practitioners deteriorate”.
Volunteers anonymously contacted 2,642 general practitioners to ask them if they would agree to follow them as their treating doctor. The majority (51.5%) refused, compared to 44% during a previous survey in 2019. Most were already following too many patients (74%), or were soon to retire (12%). The association also contacted 761 ophthalmologists, 28% of whom refused to schedule an appointment, the majority offering very long deadlines, 65 days on average.