Doctors’ strike, hospital crisis, medicine shortage, triple epidemic… The French health system is in the spotlight. According to an Elabe survey for the echoes, Radio Classique and the Institut Montaigne published this Thursday, one in two French people say they have difficult, prolonged or partial access to care services where they live, whether due to moving or over the Internet. A proportion that has increased considerably since October 2021.
12% of those surveyed say that they no longer have access to sufficient care (hospital, general practitioners, specialists). Only 31% say they have quick and easy access to everything they need.
Geographical and social differences.
These difficulties in accessing health services have been increasing since October 2021 in the same proportions in all categories of the population. They continue to be much more present in rural municipalities and small towns (17% without access, 59% difficult access) than in large towns (7% without access, 45% difficult access).
According to this survey, there is also a gap between people with economic difficulties, since 17% of them do not have access to care services compared to 8% of those who do not have to restrict themselves.
No trust in the executive to solve the problem
53% of the French consider that the health system in France works badly. A figure significantly lower than the measures in June 2021 (22%), “in a context of the Covid crisis where public opinion hailed the efficiency and usefulness of the health system,” recalls the polling institute.
In addition, 73% of the French feel that the functioning of the health system has deteriorated in recent years. This feeling is largely in the majority among all categories of the population and electorates, even among the French who say they have easy and quick access to the health services they need.
The respondents identified many causes for the problems raised: lack of resources mobilized by the State in hospitals, lack of caregivers, reluctance of doctors to settle in rural areas, arduous care professions or even abusive use of emergencies. Almost three out of four French people do not trust Emmanuel Macron and Elisabeth Borne’s government to solve these difficulties.
Sample of 1005 people representative of residents of mainland France aged 18 or over. The representativeness of the sample was ensured according to the quota method applied to the following variables: sex, age and profession of the interviewee, prior stratification by region and agglomeration category. Internet questionnaire from January 3 to 4, 2023. For a sample of 1000 people, the margins of error are as follows with a confidence level of 95%.
Source: BFM TV
