France: an airlift to make up for the lack of doctors in Nièvre
Eight doctors arrived at Nevers airport from Dijon this Thursday, January 26, 2023. AFP - THIERRY ZOCCOLAN
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An airlift of caregivers was established this Thursday between the city of Dijon, in central-eastern France, and the neighboring department of Nièvre, a medical desert, despite criticism of the environmental impact.
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Eight "flying doctors" arrived shortly before 9 a.m. (8 a.m. GMT) in Nevers, under a light drizzle and biting cold, before joining the hospital in the city, capital of Nièvre which has 200,000 inhabitants.
They were to return to Dijon the same evening.
This "air bridge" aims to connect Nevers at least once a week to the regional capital Dijon in 35 minutes, compared to nearly three hours by car or two and a quarter hours by train.
"
The plane is the best way to shorten delays
" while Nevers hospital is, in France, "
the furthest departmental hospital
" from a university hospital center, explained the mayor of Nevers and president of the hospital center (CH) of the city, Denis Thuriot.
Lack of doctors at Nevers hospital
Pulmonologists, oncologists or other gynecologists are intended for the CH where there is a lack of “
about fifty doctors and at least 35 nurses
”, according to Patrick Bertrand, president of the Medical Commission of the hospital center.
But the small eight-seater single-engine also transported two general practitioners from SOS Médecins.
“
We are going to put in place a structure
”, currently non-existent in Nièvre, general practitioner Romain Thévenoud told AFP.
"
Our goal is to better care for the population
," explained the director of the CH, Jean-François Segovia.
“
Medical density fell by 21% in Nièvre between 2012 and 2022. There are 68 doctors per 100,000 inhabitants compared to an average of 121 in France.
There is no dermatologist, only one rheumatologist, an allergist... 20% of patients have no attending physician
”.
Critics of environmentalists
Medical flights are "
a palliative while waiting to attract young doctors
", believes Pierre Trouilloud.
The traumatologist at the Dijon University Hospital has been coming to Nevers every month for 25 years for his consultations, traveling six hours by car.
With the plane, he now plans to come "
every fortnight
".
The airlift has a cost borne by the hospital, but it will in fact “
save
”, assures Denis Thuriot.
"It costs 670 euros round trip per passenger", while an interim doctor can ask for up to "
3,000 euros a day
", calculates the mayor.
The measure, however, drew criticism from environmentalists.
"
A journey by plane emits 1,500 times more greenhouse gases than by train
", accuses Sylvie Dupart-Muzerelle, municipal councilor EELV (ecologist) of Nevers, who denounces "
a blow of com' at a time when Europe validates the abolition of domestic flights in France when there is an alternative by train in less than 2h30
”.
However, this measure does not apply to private flights such as Dijon-Nevers.
The establishment of a medical flight "
appears all the more necessary as the rail link between Nevers and Dijon will be cut for at least seven months from July for work
", nevertheless recalled the socialist president of Nièvre, Fabien Bazin.
(
With
AFP)
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