A medical center will soon open its doors in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin

The Saint-Roman district of Roquebrune-Cap-Martin will soon benefit from a dedicated medical unit .

At the last municipal council meeting, elected officials unanimously approved a tripartite partnership agreement aimed at authorizing the installation of a medical practice within the Saint-Roman site , located under the interchange of the same name, near the Ange-Gai car park.

Classified by the Regional Health Agency (ARS) as an under-served area in terms of primary care, this part of the municipality has suffered for several years from limited access to medical consultations , particularly for the elderly or vulnerable. A situation that the town hall intends to improve.

135,000 euros investment

To address this shortcoming, the municipality has committed €110,000 to renovation work on the site, as well as €25,000 to equip it with equipment. The goal is to provide healthcare professionals with functional and accessible premises.

After consultation with the Region, the ARS 06, the Territorial Professional Health Community (CPTS) and the Multidisciplinary Health Center of the French Riviera, the creation of a secondary branch in this sector was approved. It will allow general practitioners to hold office hours , but also to carry out home visits , specifically for the residents of Saint-Roman.

By adopting this agreement, the municipality confirms its desire to develop a local health policy, in conjunction with local stakeholders.

Opposition councillor Guillaume Contesse (group "Act for Roquebrune-Cap-Martin") welcomes an initiative that "is a step in the right direction" while questioning another project mentioned previously: the creation of a second medical practice on the site of the former post office, in the Cap-Martin sector. " What exactly is it? And what is the timetable planned with the ARS and the CPTS?" he asked.

The municipality's terse response: "We're working with our various partners to find the right compromise." "There's significant work to be done, but I think agreements can be reached with La Poste by the start of the school year ," Mayor Patrick Cesari said. "We're in discussions with them about how they let us have these premises. We'll come to an agreement. We'll launch the necessary calls for tender. Work will start at the end of the year, not before."

Regarding the Saint-Roman site, the majority specifies that a nurse will soon be making regular visits to the premises.

What about the air base?

Gilbert Furlan (Cap Rocabruna group) warned of the difficulty of attracting healthcare professionals: "My doctor is stopping his practice and told me very clearly that no young people want to come. It's not an unfavorable region, but there are very few applicants. We're in an almost tense area."

He also regretted that the former airbase site (BA943) had not been considered for a health center: "On the BA, we had a 5,000 m² commercial space, with parking and a central location. This would have allowed us to bring together several professionals."

Patrick Cesari defended the municipal strategy: "It was precisely to address this shortage that we launched this operation over a year ago. Today, we have serious contacts. These are doctors from the Palmosa Multidisciplinary Health Center who will come to Saint-Roman. We are already certain of their presence: two general practitioners and a nurse, who already practices in the neighborhood and provides home visits. The opening is planned for September. I have no regrets about having chosen to invest in the work in Saint-Roman. But the thousands of remaining square meters on the BA have not yet been the subject of serious and in-depth consideration. We have the space, and I will propose in September to think about it and work on it. Nothing has been decided and nothing is excluded."

In a rather rare scene, one opponent responds to another. "You have to understand how it works," Guillaume Contesse tells Gilbert Furlan (two future candidates in the municipal election). "There's the ARS (Regional Health Agency), which defines a plan at the regional level. It has a local branch, the CPTS (Public Health and Social Services), and these people place professionals by providing a subsidy to set up. Today, it may be debatable, but from an administrative perspective, there's no point in putting a medical center back on the airbase. The CPTS explained to me that it was too close to Palmosa."

Gilbert Furlan, however, maintained his position, believing that the town hall could, if necessary, directly subsidize medical facilities on this site.