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French health care


woolybanana
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[quote user="NormanH"]This is in today's Figaro

http://sante.lefigaro.fr/actualite/2012/03/15/17779-palmares-2012-hopitaux-cliniques

Some of the most interesting bits are in the links at the very bottom:

http://sante.lefigaro.fr/actualite/2010/11/26/10572-neuf-cents-accidents-medicaux-par-jour-lhopital?position=3&keyword=h%C3%B4pitaux [/quote]

Now that is scary reading ... 900 a day and half due to human lack of care and could be avoided.

And no improvment since 2004 !

Sue

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There was an item on M6 last night, Capital, about doctors that work in the 'private' sector leaving the 'public' sector devoid of some specialities. That in some towns the only way to get treated for some things is to go private, to a polyclinique where the doctors are free to fix their own fees. This meaning that for many treatment is simply not possible as they can not afford to follow this path. 

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Yes I have heard of that before. You might be lucky and find one but then again you might not. In addition even in public hospitals many specialists are now practising privately for part of the week, and you have to pay the extra if you wish to be seen quickly.

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[quote user="NormanH"]Yes I have heard of that before. You might be lucky and find one but then again you might not. In addition even in public hospitals many specialists are now practising privately for part of the week, and you have to pay the extra if you wish to be seen quickly.

[/quote]

I thought the received wisdom was that the UK would do well to take a leaf out of France's book. It seems the botte is on the other pied.

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[quote user="You can call me Betty"]I thought the received wisdom was that the UK would do well to take a leaf out of France's book. It seems the botte is on the other pied.

[/quote]

I had last week to turn  down seeing a surgeon for this reason, sector 2 and the charges.  No way could I afford them. England has a lot of good things that one perhaps doesn't realise until one tries things elsewhere.

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Just a note:

Was in Uk last weekend to visit family. On way home on Friday, my daughter was taken poorly on the train (violent stomach pains, dizzy, light-headed and passed out). As train was pulling into final stop, conductor called for assistance. As the train was turning we had to get off train. So she was left sitting on ground on platform in cold wind, waiting for assistance, which came 10 minutes later.

Finally, paramedic came, put her in car and took her to City Hospital, Birmingham, where she was sent into triage. After which she was asked to wait in A&E, until called.

Three hours later, she was still sitting on metal chair in A&E, in agony with stomach and with no sign of help, discharged herself, where she saw doctor next day.

It was pointed out to us afterwards, even by taxi driver taking us home, that this hospital has the worst reputation for A&E. At least in France you are treated as a human being, rather than a piece of meat. There is no point in having triage if you are left waiting in agony. OK the staff may be busy, but a dedicated system of aid should be in place, and midnight on a Friday in Birmingham is not the place for a young person![:(]

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Keni, you are very fortunate if in your part of France you get seen quickly and not abandoned. Apart from once, when I was seen immediately at around 6am  and then abandoned for 12 hours, we have always had to wait up to four or five hours to be seen in France. And nothing has changed in that hospital. They are busy.

 

 

 

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[quote user="idun"]Keni, you are very fortunate if in your part of France you get seen quickly and not abandoned. ... we have always had to wait up to four or five hours to be seen in France. And nothing has changed in that hospital. [/quote]

Same in Vannes. I have had the experience of going there a couple of times. Both occasions with very similar timetables. Once at 5pm - sent by GP who was very concerned - no triage, finally seen at 10h45, released after tests, x-rays, the works, at midnight with tablets and prescriptions for a series of further tests, by which time I was in a lot of pain from my arthritis after being virtually immobile on a trolley  for so many hours. Luckily it was nothing life threatening as the trollies were so jammed together that it was impossible to disentangle them. And the druggie next to me on the left kept taking off all her clothes which offended the gentleman immediately to my right.

Boring ... yes, painfully uncomfortable ... yes, interesting ... yes. Pity the poor staff ... I was dealt with by a charming be-jeaned young intern who quizzed me about various phrases she would need to practise for the tourist invasion in summer.

Plus ça change ...

Sue

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This is really one of those "shoebox in the middle of the road" threads where there seems to be a worst experience competion running! 

 

I've spent a lot of time in French hospitals over recent times and honestly, although I've had good treatment here, my times in A&E have not been any better than in the UK, really.  If you come in in an emergency ambulance etc you queue jump, otherwise it's just a matter of waiting in both countries.  Certainly I don't see that there is much more if any - triage done here than in the UK (in spite of the fact that I assume it's a word of French origin.)

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During the last couple of years, SWMBO has been to Avranche Urgence three times, once with a crushed thumb needing stitches and twice with arrhythmia, each time there was no waiting at all. Great attention, good service, lousy food but the latter is an International hospital trait.
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[quote user="Balham"]Am intrigued by this idea of queue jumping if one arrives by ambulance.

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[/quote]The phrase I used was emergency ambulance (ie you've already been seen by paramedics/samu etc) as I was after my road accident.  When my o/h was in the A&E in the UK yonks ago we had to wait for hours and were told that they were treating the eleven victims of a road accident who had not actually sat with us in the waiting room.  My point being that many real emergencies (people in obvious danger of dropping dead if not treated) by-pass the waiting room and we don't see them so it's not always self-evident as to what the hold up is.
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At the large Frejus regional hospital in my area a five hour wait in A&E is the norm, unless you arrive by Ambulance in a life threatening condition. That is why someone with gastric discomfort would be triaged and if as is likely it is food poisoning or a gastric bug, it is not urgent and would have to wait, as there is no real treatment other than bed rest and plenty of fluids. Whereas someone with a heart arythmia would probably be seen straight away, as potentially the condition is life threatening. Simples!
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Many people thought in England the quick way was to call an ambulance but then they'd still wait for yonks in casualty. Others might walk in with chest pain and be seen straight away. Most odd call I went to. . . . . . chap dialed 999 wanting an ambulance as he  had a splinter, he had got this splinter a few hours earlier!

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Apparently where we were, there are two separate A&Es. We were in the walk in bit, even though we were brought in by paramedic and the ambulance patients are seen in a different section , being regarded as more urgent, which made sense to me.
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