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Out of Hours community doctors services

Out of Hours community doctors services

Old Jul 22nd 2018, 11:14 pm
  #1  
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Default Out of Hours community doctors services

Hi all,

May I pick your brains please?
If you require urgent (non emergency) medical assistance outside of normal doctors practice hours who do you call? I am presuming there is an on call doctors service to facilitate health care needs in the community rather than patients attending the emergency department for non-emergency problems.

If there is an OOH GP service - do SAMU run it or is it a co-operative of doctors forming their own medical cover for the practice area?

cheers

Mike
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Old Jul 23rd 2018, 4:55 am
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Default Re: Out of Hours community doctors services

Interesting question, and surprisingly enough I've never stopped to consider what the fine line was between urgent and 'non-emergency' assistance.
My quick answer would be if I required any urgent but non life-saving treatment after hours, I would get the OH to drive me to the local hospital (out-patients dpt).
Having said that, even if a non life-saving condition, you could be excused for calling the SAMU. Many hundreds (or probably thousands) do each month often for no more than when their child has a headache or is generally feeling unwell. The SAMU operator considers each call on it's merits, and if considered necessary will despatch the SAMU team.
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Old Jul 23rd 2018, 9:02 am
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Default Re: Out of Hours community doctors services

Originally Posted by Pondlife
Hi all,

May I pick your brains please?
If you require urgent (non emergency) medical assistance outside of normal doctors practice hours who do you call? I am presuming there is an on call doctors service to facilitate health care needs in the community rather than patients attending the emergency department for non-emergency problems.

If there is an OOH GP service - do SAMU run it or is it a co-operative of doctors forming their own medical cover for the practice area?

cheers

Mike
As TP says, it's not easy for the layman to distinguish between urgent and non-emergency.
If you live in a town, you ring the 15 out of consultation hours and the SAMU will interrogate you and decide whether it's an emergency or not.
Here in rural Hérault it's a medical desert and in any case there's no SAMU service. We ring the 18 and the on-call doctor of the local fire brigade does the interrogation and decides what to do. Be aware that, if the Pompiers whisk the patient to hospital, no one is allowed to accompany them in the ambulance, you must have means of transport to follow.
Either way, it involves a technical conversation on the telephone, which isn't easy even if you're fluent.
If the patient is capable of being driven in a normal car, you can also go directly to the nearest Urgences.
Another thought - the many white ambulances that you see around don't deal with emergencies, they simply transport people to specialist consultations and back. The MT issues a Bon de Transport and there's nothing to pay.
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Old Jul 24th 2018, 2:03 pm
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Default Re: Out of Hours community doctors services

I asked this exact question to our doctor recently. The answer she gave appears to be region specific.

In our case, the doctor gave us a local number to call day or night. This would connect us to a network of medical centres. It would then be left to the medical centres to either send out a doctor or organise transport to a hospital.

Until then I presumed dialling 18, for the sapeurs-pompiers, was our best option.

So, ask your médecin traitant but otherwise dial 18.
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