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HEALTH

Flu and bronchitis reach epidemic levels in France

New figures point to epidemic levels of flu and bronchitis among the French population - adding extra strain on a health system already dealing with 200,000 new Covid cases per day.

Published: 30 December 2021 11:52 CET
Flu and bronchitis have reached epidemic levels in parts of France
Flu and bronchitis have reached epidemic levels in France - the last thing that hospitals need right now. (Photo by ALAIN JOCARD / AFP)

Winter illnesses like flu and bronchitis are surging in France. 

“There will be impacts on hospitals from flu this year. It is obvious,” said Health Minister, Olivier Véran, in the National Assembly on Wednesday. 

Santé publique France said on Wednesday that there had been an increase in flu indicators, particularly among children. 

The number of people seeking medical help for flu symptoms increased by up to 52 percent over the course of the week, with nearly 3,000 people attending emergency care clinics with flu. 

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It said that two French regions, the greater Paris Île-de-France region and Occitanie in the south, were experiencing epidemic levels of flu, while the number of regions facing pre-epidemic levels has doubled over the space of a week. The French overseas territories of La Réunion and Mayotte are also experiencing epidemic levels of flu. 

Source: Santé Publique France
 

0-4 year olds and the over 65s have been the worst affected so far and 32 people have been admitted into intensive care units with flu since the season began in October. 

As for bronchitis, cases and hospitalisations appear to be falling compared to last week but thousands of children under the age of two attended emergency wards with bronchitis last week.  The whole of mainland France is experiencing epidemic levels of the illness. 

Santé Publique France recommends that if your child is less than six months old, was born prematurely, has cardiac or respiratory problems, drinks less than half of their milk at three consecutive feedings, vomits systematically, coughs more than usual, doesn’t sleep and cries more than usual, you should take them to an emergency ward. You can read full guidelines here. Hospitalisation is rarely necessary. 

Bronchitis is generally spread through coughing and saliva. 

The reason for a resurgence of bronchitis and the flu is thought to be because as a general population, mask wearing and other barrier gestures mean we have lost some degree of collective immunity. 

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HEALTH

REVEALED: How long does it take to get a doctor’s appointment in France?

When it comes to seeing a doctor in France, you can wait as little as three days to as long as 42 to get an appointment, according to new data. But waiting times depend heavily on the different specialties and where you live.

Published: 23 April 2024 10:07 CEST
REVEALED: How long does it take to get a doctor's appointment in France?

In France, half of all GP appointments are available within three days from the time of booking, according to a study carried out by French booking website Doctolib, using data from its platform.

But patients have to wait longer to see specialist doctors, Docotlib reveals.

Half of all appointments with pediatricians are available in less than a week.

This is followed by dentists and midwives, with an average period of 11 days before the first available appointment. Next, there were psychiatrists (16 days), gynecologists (22 days), and ophthalmologists (25 days).

The Doctolib site allows patients in France to book the next available appointments with most GPs and other medical specialists via its easy to use booking platform.

READ MORE: How to use: French medical website Doctolib

As for the specialties where patients have to wait the longest to see a doctor – dermatologists were second to last – with the average person waiting 36 days. The longest waits were to see cardiologists with patients often having to wait at least 42 days for an appointment.

The medical platform said there was an explanation for the significant differences in wait times: “Dermatology typically requires less urgent care, while most emergencies related to cardiology are referred to the hospital.”

As for physiotherapists, the only para-medical profession looked into within the study, half of all appointments were available within less than six days.

What about video consultations?

The study also looked at the use of the ‘tele-consultation’ (video appointments) tool, and it found that opting for this can significantly speed up appointment wait times.

When using the tele-consultation option, the median wait times for GP and pediatrician appointments dropped to just one day. For midwives, it went down to two days, and then four days for gynecologists, seven days for cardiologists, eight days for dermatologists, and 17 days for psychiatrists.

What about regional disparities?

According to OECD data, France has 32 doctors for every 10,000 people, slightly below the OECD average of 37.

However, they are not equally distributed – about a third of France is considered to be a ‘medical desert’, meaning there is a shortage of doctors . It’s usually used to mean places that have a shortage of GPs or family doctors, which can make it hard for patients to find a regular doctor to register with.

READ MORE: MAP: Where in France has the best access to healthcare?

The Docotlib study noted that their findings do not reveal the disparities between France’s départements, and even within départements themselves.

“About 15 départements across France were found to be in a particularly challenging position regarding wait times in comparison to the rest of the country.

“[These areas] saw median waiting times at least twice as long as the average for at least three of the different specialties,” Doctolib noted.

These départements with the longest wait times were Gers, Saône-et-Loire, Nièvre and Territoire de Belfort, Loiret, Cher, Deux-Sèvres, Ardèche, Eure, Calvados, Manche, Loire-Atlantique and Côtes d’Armor, Pas-de-Calais.

Have things got better or worse?

In terms of whether the situation has improved in recent years, well the data shows there has not been much of change.

Between 2021 and 2023, “the median appointment wait times for different specialties either only slightly changed or did not change at all, which is an encouraging sign given the increase in demand for post-Covid care and the decline in the number of doctors available,” Doctolib wrote.

Doctolib carried out the study using data from appointments made using its platform. It is important to note that medical appointments in France can be secured a number of different ways, with other websites available, as well as the possibility to request appointments in person or on the phone.

As a result, GP consultations made via Doctolib accounted for a little under half of the total GP visits in France.

The platform recorded 87.6 million GP visits in 2023 via its website, out of more than 200 million total GP consultations in France.

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