[Bevdeforges]

Just a note of clarification here. Thanks for sharing those maps, but there are many factors that go into what makes a "medical desert" - not just the number of doctors per 100,000 inhabitants. A couple of "jokers" to consider when looking at a generalized map like these:

Some areas have lots of medical doctors, but may have far too few of certain specialists. (Depends on what specialists you may require.)

Some areas appear to have enough medical doctors, but most are at or nearing retirement age and so they may not be taking on new patients.

Be sure to inquire about medical facilities - such as hospitals (public and private), clinics and other treatment facilities. It's not unheard of for patients from rural areas to wind up having to travel to Paris or other distant parts of to find surgeons or other specialized medical personnel to actually treat them once something has been diagnosed that requires treatment. (Relates too to recent government cost cutting measures that close hospitals in some areas. Particularly affects maternity facilities at public hospitals.)

Not trying to be a Debbie Downer here - but these are aspects of the "how good is the medical care in XYZ?" question you will want to consider.

 

[Bevdeforges]

The government is making a big push to deal with the problem, but it takes five years to get new doctors through medical school,

Actually, it takes ten years to get through med school and to the point of being able to practice.

Just an additional point. I come from Boston in the USA, which offers some of the best medical care in the world.

I'm from the Boston area, too. The medical systems in the US are very, very different from those in . Had a friend at university who was French, but grew up in the US. He went to med school in the US and was talking about doing his residency in - just to get back to the old country for a while. But dropped that plan when he found out how little doctors earn in . Still better than the average salaried worker - but not the multiples of average wage that doctors earn in the US. They are two very different systems.

Still, I prefer being here. (And yes, there are medical deserts in the US, too.)

 

[Bevdeforges]

I have no idea why you can't find a timely application for an ECG in Lyon which is after all a major French city.

Besides the "usual" issue of doctor shortages everywhere (including Paris and the Ile de ) we are also heading into high vacation season. Many doctors take (and probably deserve) the entire month of July or the entire month of August off (or even mid July to mid August, which gives you a bonus public holiday on each end!). Scheduling critical appointments with specialists can be particularly difficult from June to the end of August as those appointments available are often booked months or even a full year in advance.

The moral of that story is: Don't get sick in August anywhere in !

 

[Bevdeforges]

I do wonder how the Pau CHU can be classified as such when it is not linked to a university teaching hospital. Is that common in ?

From what I can find out online, the "universitaire" part can refer to an agreement (or a bunch of agreements) with one or more universities, concerning both teaching and research.