Elise, 37, a general practitioner in Lyon, testifies to her experience during confinement. - C. Girardon / 20 Minutes

  • A general practitioner in Lyon, Elise kept her office open throughout the confinement even if the consultations collapsed in the first weeks.
  • The beginnings were chaotic and it took a month to receive masks sent by the Order of Physicians.
  • Even if she considers that she was not on the front line, she hopes that city doctors "will not be the great forgotten ones of history".

They are among those who could not remain confined. By continuing to go out, every day, to go to work, they allowed everyone to heal, to feed themselves, and to save the economy from collapsing. General practitioner in Lyon, Elise, 37, kept her practice open while continuing to travel three half-days a week in a psychiatric clinic. She talks to  20 Minutes about  this two-month period apart.

On the eve of deconfinement, the time is on the books. With the fear of the days to come and the feeling of having lived some "unimaginable" a few months ago. “We expected it a bit. But it is true that at the beginning we were in total blur, in the expectation ”, remembers Elise. No information from the ARS, regional health agency. No more from the order of doctors. “All we learned in the days leading up to the confinement was through the media or social media. With sometimes, its share of false information. "

The mother of a two-year-old boy, Elise never had the idea of ​​hanging up her stethoscope. Despite the recommendations of her relatives, she decides to leave her office open, aware of the risks that this implies. “I was at the start of my second pregnancy. Little was known about the risks of transmission for pregnant women, "she said. All the more so, since like the majority of city doctors, she then had no means of protection. No masks or hydroalcoholic gel.

The solidarity of the confreres

“It was our fellow ophthalmologists and especially the dentists who helped us. Forced to close their closets, they then gave us all their stocks of masks. ” Time to find a plan B within the firm that it shares with other practitioners. “We set up an organization. Each in turn, we went to the pharmacy to restock the stocks for everyone. And we had time to tour the pharmacies in Lyon, she jokes. Because the masks distributed by the Order of Physicians arrived three months ago ... A little after the war. "

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"We were very careful during this period," continues Elise. Each evening, when coming home from work, the same ritual: leave your shoes at the entrance, undress and run away in the shower, change your clothes to avoid bringing any germs home. Luckily, the young mother was not frequently confronted with the virus. "I had few cases and the forms observed were not severe," she reveals. I did not have to save lives. My role was mainly to prevent patients from going to the emergency room, to reassure them because many were anxious. This is why the applause in the evening at 8 p.m., I never took it for myself. I didn't feel like I was on the front line. "

Collapse of consultations

The number of consultations, notes Elise, collapsed the first four weeks of confinement. “The watchword had been passed to stay at home. People have applied it, ”says the young woman showing her agenda as proof. From 20 to 25 appointments per day, it increased to three on average daily. “The rest were mainly telephone calls without consultations. In April, I lost a third of my turnover but I never asked myself the question of closing. For me it was obvious: we had to continue to be present, if only to reassure the patients even if sometimes I could not provide answers to their questions. "

Teleconsultation has also shown its limits, she believes. “As the patients are not in front of us and cannot be examined, it is difficult to diagnose shortness of breath, for example. We were more on advice and guidance than on real consultation. "

"I hope that city doctors will not be forgotten in history"

A few hours before deconfinement, the general practitioner, however, confides his fears. To begin with a laxity which the citizens could show. "Not to wear masks is a lack of civility," she believes, wishing that the rules imposed in stores or transport will be respected. As for the future of her profession, she also has some concerns: “There has been a big delay in consultations and this may have serious health consequences. Colleagues have seen, for example, patients with a malleolus fracture consult after four days, or elderly people who had broken their hips come late because they did not want to disturb. Unfortunately, poor care can have irreversible consequences ... We wonder who we will see come back to our offices. "

"I do not know if this episode will profoundly change society, but I hope that the hospital will be upgraded. There are nurses who work in resuscitation and who earn only 1,400 euros per month with hours not possible, "she concludes before sliding almost embarrassed:" I also hope that city doctors, who are often considered the last wheel of the coach, will not be the great forgotten in history ... Even if we had a less important role than hospital carers. "

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