Poitou-Charentes region content overall with hospitals and clinics

Description:

According to the results of a survey released last week, residents in Poitou-Charentes are generally satisfied with their hospitals and clinics, but there is room for improvement in the availability of specialists, and cover for weekends and nights.

The survey was commissioned by the Poitou-Charentes region in conjunction with the regional hospitals agency, and the study was carried out by IFOP.

89% of those interviewed gave a positive view of their hospitals and clinics, and given a choice between a hospital and a clinic, 58% said they would choose a hospital, against 30% who prefer a private clinic.  This result is perhaps more related to cost than quality of service, as a hospital stay is the cheaper option.

On the negative side, 31% of people interviewed said they believe there are insufficient doctors located around their area, and around 60% consider there to be too few specialists, with two out of three people claiming to have had difficulty in getting an appointment.

In terms of weekends and night cover, 28% felt that night-cover was insufficient whilst 33% believed that weekends were short of cover.  The worst results were around south-east Charente-Maritime (roughly Saintonge), where 30% of people said they had needed to go to hospital accident and emergency because of the lack of local cover by doctors.

The survey was conducted between 30 September and 4 October, and was carried out by telephone to 1504 residents of Poitou-Charentes.