Angela - just wanted to say this is so true! Understanding the language is one thing - understanding the system quite another - not just how things are done, but what they expect from you as a patient.
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My only quibble with the French Health Service is that quite a proportion of the doctors I have encountered are a bit old school (doctor is god, you do what I say, no need to explain, etc). Even something as simple as having blood pressure checked quite often I have to ask what it is as whoever is taking it doesn’t automatically say.
But more significantly the whole notion that participation in health care and health decisions leads to better outcomes seems to be less widespread here. In the UK I went through an expert patient programme to help manage my own health care, and that also improved my relationship with my specialists. I’ve not seen any reference to this sort of thing here.
My first (briefly) specialist here said he wouldn’t prescribe my triple therapy drugs as he didn’t’ believe in this “anglo-saxon cocktail”. When I pointed out that it had been validated by numerous large scale research studies, was recommended by the European league and had kept me well controlled for many years, he was not interested as he knew more than me and his decision was final. That was the last I saw of that man!
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That’s interesting, Jane - I have only had my blood pressure checked by my MT or part of a pre-op at the hospital and have always been told what it was, which didn’t happen at all in the UK 
I suppose, as with everywhere, there are massive regional and individual variations in the style of medical approach. I suppose what irritates me most is specialist insistence on addressing me in English when their English is poor- I know a lot of English people in this area don’t speak a word of French but I’d rather hear what they have to say in French, the language they are trained in, and decode it if I have to, than try to work out what they might mean by what is clearly an incorrect translation
So far, apart from more colonoscopies than I would ideally like, my exposure to specialists is rather limited and I much prefer it that way 
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When this happens to me…
I continue plodding on in French…
And if something they are saying sounds “odd” (or even if it doesn’t)…
I will ask them (in my best French) “so, you’re saying xxx and yyy are you?”
which sometimes makes them splutter and fall back into French which is much, much better.
(I still might have to query something along the way… but that’s no problem.)
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That is exactly so, @Geof_Cox I’ve found that it’s an unwise assumption Brits often make that, if doctors are handling things differently from the way they have in the UK, they are obviously getting it wrong! Also, the fact that, in my area of the UK at any rate, all referrals are done by the doctor so I just did what I was told, whereas at my first appontment with my MT here, I was handed a referral letter for me to take to a gastroenterologist of my choice 
We are expected to be adults and take responsibility for following this up ourselves (and also keeping all our own medical records - I had to get a filing cabinet )
I know Jane’s experience is rather different from that but the medical services in my previous region in the UK were renowned for not being very good in some specialities so it’s difficult to generalise…
That’s a very good approach @Stella! When I first encountered it I was so nervous and wet behind the ears that I panicked 
I now always speak to them in French whether they reply in English or not. It was such a relief that my MT would only take me on as a patient because she felt that my French was good enough for us to be able to be medically safe in communication (and I always repeat back to her what she tells me to do in order to make sure I have got it right). We have never spoken English at all (apart from me asking her once or twice what a particular English medical term was in French) and I feel very confident in her…
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Indeed. You could argue that the French system doesn’t offer as comprehensive care, as it does expect the patient to be on top of things like making appointments, keeping records, etc, whereas the NHS does a lot of this for you - you just get called in for the next stage of treatment; on the other hand you might argue that the NHS ‘nursemaids’ people too much, takes too much responsibility, and therefore encourages dependence and dis-empowers patients.
At any rate, the adjustment between the systems does take some time to get your head around.
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Oops, well thats a worry.
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It does indeed - I’m only just getting the hang of things and that’s after 5 years
The two systems are, indeed, very different.
One thing which stands out, for me…
In UK: the GP said he would write to the Specialist and we were supposed to sit at home and wait for an official letter to arrive from said Specialist, offering an appointment…
In France: the MT phoned the Specialist to arrange a swift appointment, while we sat the other side of his desk…
In both instances it related to the same, extremely grave, condition.
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That’s very interesting, @Stella. I’ve heard of a number of instances like that but none of my medical problems have been that urgent, so I’ve been handed the letter. However, when I broke my elbow and asked whether, after several weeks, it should still be giving me a particular difficulty, my MT rang a specialist and I was in to see him a couple of days later. I thought she’d done that because I was self-evidently helpless 
but it does seem that they do that if it’s urgent, which is reassuring, to say the least…
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Truly… many if not most… are that good/nice.
Our MT phoned as he was not at all happy with OH… and wanted him seen NOW…( that sort of thing)… telling said Specialist… yes, they can be with you in 40 minutes… and we were. Phew.
Back in UK… I couldn’t stand the strain and cut through the crxp by phoning and speaking with the Specialist’s Receptionist who got OH seen in the Specialist’s lunch hour… she was as concerned as I was… 
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Same here, one Friday morning before 9am, after finding something I thought suspicious, seeing the MT who immediately rang a cabinet d’imagerie, where I went straight away - less than 60 mins. Then seeing the MT the same afternoon who made me a rdv with the specialist for Monday morning. Major op two weeks or so after that.
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It’s brilliant, isn’t it…
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My wife was surprised to be sent to a podologue after complaining of back problems. He did an analysis of her walking process and made soles to put in her shoes to correct her posture.
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That’s happened to me too!
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It is brilliant. But before we all get too carried away let’sremember the long waits for certain specialists, and lack of MTs, in some areas. My French friends say it used to be better.
“80 % des médecins généralistes déclarent avoir des difficultés pour répondre aux sollicitations des patients. En conséquence, 72 % d’entre eux adaptent leurs pratiques en allongeant leur journée de travail ou écourtant le temps passé à la formation professionnelle. Ces situations ont des conséquences directes sur les patients :
- 54 % des médecins généralistes affirment devoir augmenter les délais de prise de rendez-vous
- 53 % refusent de nouveaux patients en tant que médecin traitant
- 40 % limitent le suivi de certains patients
- 28 % écourtent la durée des rendez-vous
Ils sont également confrontés à des difficultés pour trouver des confrères spécialistes en mesure de prendre en charge leurs patients pour 77 % des médecins interrogés. Ces problèmes accessibilité sont la plupart du temps lié à la distance, au coût des consultations, mais surtout aux délais d’obtention de rendez-vous dans un temps raisonnable. Les spécialités les plus touchées sont l’ophtalmologie, la dermatologie et la psychiatrie.
It is going to be years before the suppression of the numerus clausus in medicine take effect on the numbers in the ground.
My words were part of a conversation started with @AngelaR ( actually in reply to @Fleur) re incidents we had experienced, which been dealt with “swiftly and with style”… definitely Brilliant !
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I realised that. But for others reading the thread, perhaps who have yet to move to France, perhaps good best to present a rounded picture. The Health Service here is very good in general …but there are some significant flaws.