2023-10-02 10:59:38
From 5 a.m., patients crowd in front of the Vis’Yon center in Sables-d’Olonne (Vendée) in the hope of obtaining an appointment for… June 2024. The direct consequence of a lack of specialists in the region.
In Sables-d’Olonne (Vendée), you have to get up very early to try to get an appointment… very late. This Monday morning, before the clock showed 6 a.m., a line formed in front of the Vis’Yon ophthalmological center, which opens its slots eight months in advance. Before the sun rose, several people came hoping to get an appointment… for June 2024.
“I decided to come very early this morning. My ophthalmologist has retired,” says Yvonne, who is satisfied with her distant appointment for June 21, 2024.
In this town of 47,000 inhabitants all year round, and even more in the summer, only nine active ophthalmologists are recorded. Among them, three will retire in the coming months. The Vis’Yon practice is therefore overwhelmed, since it is one of the only ones still accepting new patients.
“Very high demand”
“(This system) was put in place to respond to very high demand, particularly new patients”, justifies the center, ensuring that this method “appears to be [la] fairer for patients and more protective for staff.
Despite an appointment booking system that is inconvenient for patients, many people answer the call. This Monday, even before 8 a.m., all the slots for June 2024 were allocated. For the others, you will have to come back in a month, for a visit in July 2024. And even if you travel early, you sometimes have to come back:
“This is the third time we have come to have an appointment, (this time) we arrived safely, we each have one,” rejoice Madeleine and Jean, whose practitioner has also retired .
Once their precious date is in their pocket, future patients appear relieved for some, satisfied for others. “I’m going to go home and go back to bed (…) it’s not even 7 o’clock,” laughs Danielle.
In France, there are today only 5,800 practicing ophthalmologists. Faced with this shortage, the government has delegated part of their missions to orthoptists. The executive has not communicated on the evolution of the deadlines since the adoption of the law on February 1, 2023.
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