Doctor, Hospital… Six out of Ten French People are Unhappy with Access to Care Close to Home

MEDICAL: An ICI survey with the Odoxa polling institute shows that the French suffer from difficulties in accessing care, particularly in small towns and the countryside

A survey in which a large part of the French will find themselves. This Wednesday, our colleagues from ICI (formerly France Bleu) unveil the latest results from an investigation carried out with the Odoxa polling institute among 23,500 people which indicates that nearly six out of ten French people (56%) are dissatisfied with access to care where they live.

A particularly marked situation in small towns (61%), more than in metropolises (52%). Three regions appear particularly neglected according to the survey: Centre-Val-de-Loire, where seven out of ten inhabitants are dissatisfied Pays-de-la-loire where they are 67%, and l’Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, where 62% of residents are dissatisfied.

Far too long delays in obtaining an appointment

Among the main reasons for dissatisfaction, the survey shows that 81% of respondents say it is difficult to access one doctor specialist in their municipality and the majority of them also believe that it is difficult to access a general practitioner (58%) and a service emergency.

More precisely, obtaining a medical appointment within a reasonable time is the main obstacle encountered in seeking treatment (77%), very clearly given the problems of distance from professionals or even cost and reimbursement.

The majority of French people believe that the local offer is unsatisfactory in many major areas such as access to care linked to the birth rate (54%) to a treating doctor (59%) or to a professional mental health (73%).

Mayors criticized for their (lack of) action

To compensate for these shortcomings in the world of health, the French are turning to… their mayor. Despite their proximity to the population and their status as preferred elected officials, they do not obtain the satisfaction of 51% of their constituents who consider their councilor’s action insufficient to improve access to health and prevention in their community.

For the majority of French people, the priority of the mayor of their municipality must be to facilitate access to doctors, whether specialists (56%) or general practitioners (53%), given the need to develop homes health (48%) and access to emergency medicine (34%).

These health centers are still a priority measure for 59% of French people, 54% of whom expect aid from their municipality to encourage the installation of doctors.

In 2024, six million French people did not have a treating doctor and 87% of the territory was classified as a medical desert.