These installations, which make it possible to consult a general practitioner at a distance with the active participation of the patient, have spread throughout the territory under the effect of the health crisis. Their economic model must still prove itself.
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Lost in the middle of the fields, the stone building, with its high windows framed by brick and its facade surmounted by a pediment, detonates in the green landscape. “It always surprises when I say that there is nothing around the town hall of Favril [Eure-et-Loir], apart from pastures and the forest, but that’s the case,” laughs John Billiards, the councilor of this small village nestled between the large cereal plains of La Beauce and the hills of the Perche. The building will have experienced various fortunes. Formerly asylum for the poor, then municipal school, it now houses the town hall. And, since 2019, a medical teleconsultation cabin.
The first installed in France in a town hall. An originality which continues, three years later, to attract the curious. The town hall no longer counts elected officials who have moved to its connected medical office. Save medical deserts with teleconsultation? In 2017, when his project took shape, the idea is far from obvious. John Billard comes up against the reluctance of territorial administrations and health authorities for months. Until Matignon, who summons him, intrigued by his approach. A headache, but the councilor persists.
“We must realize that at the time it was at least twelve to fifteen days to the inhabitants of the town to win a meeting with a general practitioner,” he explains. After almost two years of battle, the agreement is finally given. The teleconsultation cabin welcomes the first patients. Total cost, including the development of the premises where the cabin is installed: 100,000 euros, funded at 80 % by local authorities and the State. In addition, there are the 1,200 euros spent each month by the town hall of Favril, as operating costs. 2>
Main the absence of doctors
With four to five patients on average each week, the operation is not financially profitable. But “the inhabitants appreciate this service, which comes to meet their needs,” says Laurence Elisabeth, the town hall secretary. Since the arrival of the cabin, it is she who has been responsible for welcoming patients, accompanying them to the local, cleaning and disinfecting after their passage. For John Billard, the balance sheet is more than satisfactory.
“We even saved a life!” He says. The doctor detected an emergency in a patient, while he examined remotely. The firefighters immediately came to take her to drive her to the hospital de Chartres. “The Favriloise experience has been emulated. More and more local authorities are today equipped with remote control cabins to compensate for the absence of doctors. A responsibility which does not, however, fall under their skills, this attribution is normally reserved for the State.
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