To combat medical deserts, a territorial professional health community welcomes patients from the valleys of Nice to Drap

In the waiting room, a mother tries to keep her two toddlers calm. She's waiting to consult Annick D'Ambrosio, the advanced practice nurse. Her profession borders on medicine. Annick has broad skills that allow her, for example, to monitor chronic conditions already identified by a general practitioner, such as diabetes. She can also prescribe antibiotics in cases of confirmed bacterial infection. She can adapt or even interrupt a treatment, or renew a prescription, always in consultation with a doctor.

Lucéram and soon Coaraze

Annick consults at the CPTS (Territorial Professional Health Community) Paillons and Banquière Valleys , whose premises have been set up in the heart of La Condamine in Drap on the ground floor of a building in this neighborhood, which is certainly a priority, but quiet and peaceful compared to other cities on the Côte d'Azur. Another branch has been opened in Lucéram. And soon a new center in Coaraze.

This CPTS is very extensive: it covers 16 municipalities , from Lucéram to Peille and from La Trinité to Châteauneuf-Villevieille and includes 48,000 inhabitants . An area without a hospital, which includes four priority neighborhoods of the City policy, where there is a lack of doctors and specialists. Since 2018, France has been covered by CPTS. The aim is to adapt healthcare provision to the specificities of the territories, after carrying out a diagnosis intended to reveal the gaps in a given sector. It is a tool to combat medical desertification.

A former bar

Here, in the heart of La Condamine, at 28 avenue Virgile Barel, the CPTS has set up shop in a former... bar. The municipality bought the premises to install the care center there. "We invested 70,000 euros and we also financed the work," says the mayor of Drap, Robert Nardell i. The center operates by appointment with general practitioners, including Dr. Olivier Marcotte , who initiated the project. He is a doctor in La Trinité. Patients can also get gynecological, dermatological, and psychological appointments.

Gym on Fridays

And then, each CPTS has specific missions. " We have set up two pathways, one for frail elderly people, because we realized that there was a lot of neglect of care, especially among isolated seniors. Another for children with intellectual disabilities, suffering from "dys", for example," explains Diane Albertini, the center's coordinator. In this role, she can manage appointments for healthcare professionals* alongside Doctolib.

On Fridays, Annick decided to get her patients moving! From 11 a.m. to 12 p.m., she offers a walk in La Condamine. A walk with physical exercises. "On rainy days, they couldn't do their gym outside, so we had the old barn renovated. Everything is new," says Robert Nardelli. The old stone building located about fifty meters from the CPTS was inaugurated last April.

*Appointments can be made on Doctolib or at 06.70.14.93.70.