The town of Bargemon has its own health center

Since July 8, "a (general practitioner) has been able to provide 49 consultations, and the midwife has been able to perform six," says Nadine Decarlis, mayor of the town of Bargemon. In front of the facade of 8 Place Saint-Etienne, which recently became the location of the postal bank and health center, several dozen people attended the inauguration and the traditional ribbon cutting. This new health center joins the branches of Sillans-la-Cascade and Comps-sur-Artuby, which opened last year and are also attached to the Vidauban center.

The network orchestrated by Dracénie Provence Verdon Agglomeration (DPVa) has already provided 11,259 consultations. This is a necessity for DPVa in the face of medical desertification, illustrated by a figure: in 2022, the "Vie publique" website estimated that 30.2% of the French population would live in a medical desert. "Today we have 70 doctors in the Dracénie region for 108,000 inhabitants. 60% will have reached retirement age within two years," worries Nadine Decarlis.

"We will win the battle!"

Benefiting from the combined employment and retirement system, Alain-Pierre de Aro took over as general practitioner: "This allows us to provide a service to the population because the situation is dramatic," warns the doctor. He adds: " I had 2,100 patients at almost 70 years old. I've seen a lot of people who haven't been able to receive care for seven months ( the date of his retirement, Editor's note) at La Motte."

Faced with the health challenges facing the Var region (an aging population, territorial inequalities, and insufficient medical density in rural areas), this new health center presents itself as a bulwark. "You don't inaugurate a municipal building every day. In the career of a local elected official, it's an important event," confides the moved mayor. "Our primary objective is to improve public service for our citizens."

Every Wednesday, it will be open for general medicine consultations (1). Other consultations with gynecologist midwives and cardiologists will be provided for patients in Dracénoise. The mayor assures that she wants to extend the system in the future to gastroenterologists and psychologists. "We will win the battle!" declared DPVa president Richard Strambio to conclude his speech. Criticizing the numerus apertus and the commercialization of medicine, he added: "In 2018, we were aware of the medical desertification [...] We are pioneers in our territory." And he concludes: "In the years to come, we will need the entire medical profession."

The premises will be shared with the post office

To successfully provide these services, the town hall seized the aid and subsidies offered by the public authorities. The project includes funding from DPVa, the State, the Region and the Regional Health Agency (ARS). The Departmental Council, for its part, subsidized the post office. "You have been very efficient," congratulates sub-prefect Myriam Garcia. " To reach 80% public aid when that is the maximum and 20% self-financing for your municipality, is the symbol of an iron fist and priesthood," according to the sub-prefect of Draguignan.

Following the regular office closures, "we negotiated with the Post Office services to have this postal agency and maintain the service for our residents," announced the mayor of Bargemon. "The municipal postal agency is the symbol of a local public service to which our fellow citizens are deeply attached," the sub-prefect continued. A paradoxical desire for preservation when people "no longer travel," added the sub-prefect. "Thanks to your determination, it is a model of mutualization, it allows you to maintain a human welcome while diversifying the services offered."

1. Make an appointment on the Doctolib application.