The proposal is likely to be talked about. About fifty deputies must submit this Friday a bill to the National Assembly, devoted to the fight against medical desertification. Their flagship measure is simple: require new graduates to practice for three years in a medical desert. A recourse to the obligation assumed by Thierry Benoit, elected UDI of Ille-et-Vilaine, appearing among the people at the origin of the text, guest of Europe 1. For him, the urgency of the situation imposes this kind of radical proposal.
Incentives no longer work
“For 15 years, in the National Assembly, we have been talking about so-called incentive measures, such as the installation bonus, tax exemption, multidisciplinary health centers, telemedicine”, he recalls. But “it turns out that these so-called incentive measures, which I have been supporting for fifteen years, are no longer enough”.
“The situation is getting worse day by day across the national territory, whether in large cities, medium-sized towns or rural areas”, warns Thierry Benoît. Because medical deserts are “not a specificity of rural territories”. In total, “6 to 8 million French people” do not have a referring doctor.
“Train more young doctors”
Faced with this situation, “there is an urgent need to act and to propose regulatory measures alongside the so-called incentive measures, in order to better distribute the doctors”, insists the guest from Europe 1. “The number one priority, c “is to train more young doctors. Then, during the ten years of training doctors, you have to take the pressure off medical students, on interns”.
“We must better distribute the installation of doctors throughout the national territory”, continues the elected official. However, “if we are contracted for three years to go and practice in under-resourced territories, that would bring regulation”.