French Rural Hospitals Limit Emergency Access Over Staff Shortages

The emergency department and mobile intensive care unit (SMUR) at Sainte‑Foy‑la‑Grande Hospital will be completely closed from 20 July to 30 September, affecting more than 50,000 residents of the surrounding rural area. Patients must call the emergency number 15 and will be redirected to hospitals in Bergerac or Libourne, a measure prompted by a roughly 40 % vacancy rate among emergency physicians.

Similarly, the Centre Hospitalier de Millau will temporarily regulate access to its emergency department on 19‑20 July and 22‑23 July. During those 24‑hour windows, callers must first contact 15 (SAMU) or 116 117 (on‑call general practitioner) before presenting at the hospital, due to a short‑term shortage of medical staff. Both actions illustrate acute staffing deficits in France’s rural emergency services.