Hi everyone!
I have recently discovered this fab forum and it looks like the best for my interests and needs in France by a long shot. Please bear with me as there is some background to explain.
I have a father-in-law who had been estranged from my wife for 7 years after their disagreement (his choice).
We recently had communication out of the blue and to cut a long story short it looks like he is into the middle stages of dementia.
One big challenge is taking enough time off work in the UK to visit him in Montpellier. He lives alone and for various reasons (many unknown) we have no idea about things like his energy providers, bank history and very importantly, his doctor.
He is British but has lived around France for around 30 years. Due to his memory issues and lack of paperwork (& digital passwords) we are trying to track things down
We can only communicate in person approximately monthly as he has no phone or Internet (in fact we just realised we could write - imagine that, eh?). It is a miracle his energy was still on when we visited a few weeks ago, as we don’t know how it is being paid- there is nothing on his bank ststements. We attempted to set up a replacement PAYG phone credit but it couldn’t be done due to a combo of language barrier and lack of Internet access. Extremely nerve-wracking and frustrating.
We also have to try and organise a plumber for the next time we go (his syndic suggested CRPC, if anyone knows them).
Anyway, the situation is pretty crazy and unexpected as well as disturbing for us and my FIL - when we land in Montpellier for a long weekend trip from Gatwick we hit the ground running!
Does anyone know how easy it might be to organise a swift appointment (RDV?) with his doctor (if indeed he can literally lead us there? If we are able to have French Social Services or similar look after him between our visits it would make things much better until we can repatriate him (his wish).
Many thanks for any advice! 
Simon
Hi, welcome to SF.
For medical appointments, how long are you likely to be here and when do you arrive? If you know the doctor’s name you might be able to organise an appointment or a video one on a website like Doctolib.
Other people here are good on social services and the help available.
1 Like
Hi Jennifer
Thanks for replying. We will arrive on a Thursday morning and, all things being equal, will go into town to track down the doctor - even if it is only for the nameand address. We will be leaving on the Tuesday evening.
A video appointment might well be a good idea, thanks. Our French has lain pretty dormant for decades and is quite basic so we may struggle - but maybe not.
Whereabouts in Montpellier does he live as there are several different welfare centres, and you need ro make contact as soon as possible with the assistante sociale (AS) that covers his zone. French social services are good in these types of situations and have several different levels of care. it is just a bit slow to set up as needs the AS to create and submit a dossier.
When you arrive you also need to look for his carte vitale (a greenish credit card thing) which if you take to a pharmacy should be able to tell you who his GP is.
But if he wants to return to UK might it be easier just to take him back with you and sort his house etc out later?
3 Likes
Hi Jane
Thanks for that info - he lives in Mosson. I will try and find the AS from here in the UK.
We have visited twice before to get the ball rolling (cleaning, washing, shopping, feeding, assessing the situation) but we didn’t know about the CV giving the link to his doctor. That is excellent to know as there is a pharmacie 100m away and could save us the potential wild goose chase of wandering the central streets hoping his memory is correct!
We need to get the UK lasting power of attorney signed by the doctor so we can ‘unblock’ his UK pension which feeds his French bank (it seems forms weren’t returned for the last year or two).
Once that is all done we would be closer to bringing him back. He will need to buy or rent somewhere in the UK, hence the pension flow while we set up dealing with his French assets (house, garages, car, etc).
All this is made very challenging due to finding holiday time once a month or so (whilst working) - it is a monster out of the blue, I tell you!
Is that La Mosson, postcode 34080? There seem to be quite a few generalistes in that area.
When you see the pharmacy, you want the name of FiL’s ‘medecin traitant’, his normal GP.
2 Likes
Perhaps I should have said Celleneuve. I don’t have his address handy but that code is correct.
I have already stored MT in my mind for GP, thank you
And do take documents proving he is your FIL - copies of your birth certificates/marriage certificate. It may be overkill but if your French is rusty it helps persuade people of your right to know things. Our pharmacist would tell anyone my weight and latest blood pressure reading, but some can be more confidential.
And think of why you need to know his GP? Does he take regular medication, is it to get a referral to a specialist, is it for assessing his disability level?
The GP may not pop up directly but a pharmacist should be able to deduce who it is.
1 Like
Thanks again.
Understood - we will bring docs just in case. Yes, it is mainly for a referral to assist with his care/diagnosis and probably general health check-ups as he won’t have been for a while.