Title : Too far, too old, too few: Europe is running out of doctors
Link : politico.eu/article/france-...
The article is about France, but the UK is likely to be well along the same path. And I doubt very much whether the UK will throw money at the problem like some areas of France appear to be doing.
Wow! Europe wide. You have to ask what on earth is going on in the world don’t you?
Too true. Very difficult to find a GP where I live in Haute Savoie. Having no attributed GP also means you may not be reimbursed correctly. This happened to me for a few months after I found myself without a doctor suddenly. The organisation that manages this CPAM then put a fictive name in the slot for GPs name so that I was reimbursed correctly. What a world we live in??? Another point to note is that more and more doctors are not being trained in France but having to go abroad to get training. I know young people going to Spain to study medecine because they couldnt get into medical school in France for diverse reasons. They didn't speak a word of Spanish when they started out. How they managed I really don't know.
The French system (government decision + medical hierarchy) had decreed that only a certain numbers of doctors should be trained each year. Their standards of entry are very high. Therefore many students go to Spain to have a chance to train.
As for studying in a different language it is possible, it just requires a bit more work and dedication. I have done so myself in England, I am French. Also many students had a basic of Spanish from their secondary school days, so that helps.
population decline is an increasing issue in rural areas….even in U.K.
But worse in EU as areas are larger and sparsely populated
eyes-on-europe.eu/nobody-li...
U.K. population forecast
ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulation...
Over the next 10 years, there is projected to be a total of 59,000 more deaths than births; this reflects lower projected fertility rates for all countries and an increasing number of older people as those born in the baby boom generations after World War Two and in the 1960s reach older ages.
The projected UK population growth is slower than in the 2018-based projections; the projected population is 0.6 million fewer in mid-2030 and 1.8 million fewer in mid-2045.
EU population forecast
euronews.com/2020/07/31/new...
The United Nations has said the number of people in the bloc will drop to 365 million by 2100, down from 446 million today.
But a new study, published in the medical journal The Lancet, predicts it will fall more sharply, to 308 million by the end of the century.
Japan population forecast to collapse
theworldcounts.com/populati...
Japan’s Peak Population
The Japanese population peaked around 2010 with 128.1 million people.
So far the population has only decreased slightly (to 126.5 in 2020). But the decline is accelerating.
Population collapse of Japan
By 2050, 106 million people are expected to live in Japan and by 2100 just 75 million. This means that in 90 years the population will decrease by 53 million people - over half a million people a year or more than one person every second around the clock.
Managing population decline…..with higher numbers of elderly people to support, than working age population is economically challenging without high levels of immigration
The Guardian had an article on low birthrates in Japan and South Korea recently. They also have an ever growing population of elderly. One of the main reasons was women are expected to give up work if they become mothers. Paternity leave isnt being taken although its offered, due to cultural pressures.
So women are shouldering all the childcare and household chores, whilst men work very long hours to support a family on one wage. Cost of living is high in both countries. Not difficult to see why having a baby isnt that appealing. And neither Japan or South Korea seem keen on immgration. Unless they change their culture radically its difficult to see how they'll navigate the next decades.
We seem to have very child unfriendly policies here as well.
Certainly a worrying situation. Although, compare to the UK France is a bigger country covering large rural areas which are sparsely populated. It can take a long drive to get to a medical centre or for a GP to do a home visit. However, there are many doctors per patient Numbers on the French Riviera! Please note that French doctors, no matter how stretched and stressed they are, still do home visits unlike here.
Tell that to people in rural wales and rural Scotland I don’t think they’ ll find it reassuring. Just because most of us live in cities is of little comfort, if there are not enough doctors to service our medical needs we will all suffer wherever we live. The writing is already on the wall here.
Interesting that home visits have gone here. It was common when I was a child for the doctor to visit in cases of illness. Small wonder doctors are so removed from the patients, they never see the home environment of their patients, which I am sure could be very telling and make them more aware and better at their job. Health has become so fragmented here, carved up for privatisation I fear, it’s a darn jigsaw. Oh for a a more holistic approach. It’s not a good time to have health issues, not that it’s ever a good time of course in the grand scheme of things.
Of course it’s quite a drastic situation for all of us, especially when we have complex and multiple health issues. We don’t feel safe. I don’t. More concerning for those living in rural areas as you mentioned in your post.
I always thought GPs were paid too much in the UK, no matter what they do or don’t, they still get paid very well. I believe it was a certain PM who increased their salaries so much and allowed them not to cover nights and weekends (as they used to do on a rota basis a long time ago) and no home visits even if one I’d dying ! At least, in France (and other European countries) doctors still drive to do home visits, very long distances too, at least still at the moment.
I agree we’re pushed towards an American health system, full of injustice and lack of care unless one can pay! The future is not bright.
I quite agree. Let’s hope there’s sea change and bold new thinking comes into play, to make the future better for the majority not just a small rich minority, It can’t be beyond the wit of man to do better than this. You are of course right about the more rural nature of France compared to us.
It’s rather worrying, so much for market forces sorting everything out, what a mess!
Too much thyroid medicine. 
This personifies the arrogance of medicine
UK prescriptions no longer valid in the EU
Help with diagnosis in the UK
