Photo from PhotoExpress
Two words I would desperately love to be able to say to my Doctor right now. I have been trying very hard to say them but my Doctor appears to have disappeared.
Originally I thought he was on holiday and made do without him, but I’ve been trying to reach him since the beginning of September now without any luck. My need to contact him opposed to just any Doctor is urgent and is because the pesky French social security has managed to loose my attestation of declared doctor since I switched from one service to another.
This missing attestation means as far as they are concerned I do not have a declared Doctor and all my medical reimbursements for normal appointments, specialists, x-rays, IRM scans etc are only reimbursed at 30% of what I paid and my additional health insurance policy won’t accept to pay the difference.
This mess up is meaning that I am hundreds of Euros out of pocket and the only possible solution to remedy the situation is to get my Doctor to resign a form.
Desperate to track him down, I went on a detective mission yesterday and visited his office which like many French GP’s is in a residential apartment block. His button on the interphone was no longer working and his shutters were all closed. Not a good sign. Next I checked out his letter box. My crouching down on the floor on all fours and putting my head at a really odd angle I could make out that there was quite a lot of post in the box. Now, I don’t know how much post a Doctor normally receives but that looked like a lot. Not a good sign.
I must have raised suspicions as a resident of the apartment block came out to see what I was doing, I don’t suppose that it’s everyday that they have fake blondes loitering in the entrance hall on all fours trying to peer into their letter boxes!
Alas, the resident quickly confirmed that the Doctor had not been seen for almost two months and nobody knew where he had gone or if anything had happened to him.
This did not leave me with much hope and I popped the letter I had pre-prepared into his letter box with my request and hoped that he would pick it up soon. I left the building dejected, wondering what had happened to my Doctor and whether he was okay and also worried about the financial consequences for me vis-à-vis the Social Security due to his disappearance.
On returning home, I called the Social Security to explain my plight and see what could be done. Afterall, it isn’t just a few Euros I was talking about so it was definitely worth the call however complicated it may be, what with the French aspect (okay so I am fluent, but dealing with these people is hard work even for Frenchies) and my lisping with my braces.
By way of a miracle I spoke to a lovely lady who did not sound at all surprised that my Doctor could disappear (is this a frequent occurrence in France then?) and she told me not to worry. Apparently they can contact my old Caisse and get confirmation from them that I had already declared my Doctor. Question: why did they not do this originally when I told them I had already declared it?
Now, I have to go and find a new GP to register with. This may seem an easy task to most but if you’re looking for someone who actually listens to what you have to say before they start writing the prescription then you’ll realize that this is not the case. At least not around here anyway.
My Doctor was a rare pearl and I sincerely hope he is well whatever may have happened to him.
Oh, la la! I know well the trials and tribulations of the French medical system. I couldn’t help but laugh as I read!
Unbelievable. Good thing you got a nice lady on the phone.
Glad you laughed, that’s more than I’ve been doing lately! I hope the nice lady is able to sort things out and that she is a proactive, nice lady… I will have to keep an eye on this!
I’ve never had a doctor disappear on me, your story is a first. Your question about why the SS didn’t contact your old Caisse is one of those great mysteries for which there is no answer.
Good luck finding a new doctor that accepts new patients!
Thanks Dedene! I love how you describe the SS as being one of those great mysteries that will never be solved!
It’s like a mystery novel! I hope he is okay. I’m with Charley — I’m glad you got a nice lady on the phone.
Yes, good luck to you.
And while I am here, Happy Birthday to you, Piglet!!
It certainly is although I am very impatient and cannot stand not knowing the end of a story! I can’t even Google it!
Thanks for the Birthday wishes
the big 3-0!
This is the type thing that would consume me forever if it happened to me. I’d be going around for years wondering whatever happened to the doctor. If you find out, please lets us know. And best of luck finding a new doctor!
Will do Sarah! I’m not going to give up easily and hopefully I will find out and it will put my mind at ease. I really must start the new Doctor hunt today though…
How bizarre!! Like Sara, this is the kind of thing which would intrigue me for years…maybe he fled the country? Joined a cult? Maybe he died? All possibilities…
Yep, these were some of the possibilities I thought of, along with prison, in an accident, nervous breakdown, drug use, murdered by a patient that waited too long for their appointment, met someone and flew away to get married happy ever after, got amenisia and couldn’t go to work anymore… I do hope one day I will find out – it’s enough to drive me mental.
He was a very good doctor and I know he worked abroad for many years for a large drug company before becoming a GP in France so maybe they kidnapped him and made him go back?
I do hope you find out what happened to the doctor. I hate mysteries unless someone comes up with an answer!
Good luck with the hunt for a new doctor.
Hi Ayak, I hope you’re well. I’m sorry I haven’t been by your’s for a while, I’ve not had much time on my hands of late and things like having to resolve additional French paperwork eat even more into my time! Arggghhhh!
Such is the shortage of doctors in the countryside that he might have been abducted by a rural maire….
And as for why couldn{t they have contacted the Caisse themselves….why would they do that if they can get you to run around for them!
I hope it gets sorted because all the time it isn’t it’s your euros that are draining away.
Good luck
now that’s a scenario I hadn’t thought of! Maybe they enticed him away with less working hours and larger salary?
Hi there,
So glad you started following my blog because now I’ve found yours! You have a knack for writing…and I love love love France so this is very exciting for me to read your posts.
Merci!
Thank you Brittany, I am glad I found your blog too (thanks to Karin, An Alien Parisienne) – I haven’t had chance to read indepth as yet but I am very impressed by your writing, your passion for France and your yummy yummy recipes! I will be back soon and can’t wait to test some of the recipes out!
[...] to sort things out this summer and things came to a head in September when my Doctor disappeared (read post here). After writing this post, I waited a while in case my Doctor showed a sign of life and come [...]