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HEALTH

MAP: Where are the worst places in France for bed-bugs?

It's been the bane of many a tourist's visit - an infestation of bed-bugs. But the problem in France is so bad that every year thousands of people require medical help.

Published: 28 July 2020 12:43 CEST
MAP: Where are the worst places in France for bed-bugs?
Photo: AFP

New data published by the French health ministry shows that between April 2019 and March 2020, 70,000 people made a visit to their doctor that was linked to bed-bugs.

Skin lesions from the bites were the most common reason for the doctor's visit, but many people also reported feeling stressed, anxious and unable to sleep due to the presence of the irritating creatures in their bed.

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In recent years many of the world's tourist hotspots – including Paris – have seen a sharp rise in the number of bed-bug infestations as temperatures rise and the insects become immune to common insecticide treatments.

The data from the French health ministry also gives a breakdown on the areas where the most consultations took place, per 100,000 of the population.

The greater Paris Île-de-France region shows a surprisingly small number of cases, but the data comes from visits to GPs, so is unlikely to include any tourists who have been bitten by the bugs while staying in the capital.

However hoteliers in the area admit that it is a problem.

In 2018 alone, there were 100,000 bed-bug infestations in Paris, according to the French Union for Pest Control (CS3D), a scourge that is now also affecting the capital's hotel industry. 

READ ALSO 'You're better of sleeping in your car' – How Paris is plagued by bed bugs

The southern regions of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur – which includes the French riviera, Nice and Marseille – and the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region – which includes Lyon and Alpine holiday resorts – showed the highest number of consultation per head of the population.

 

 

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HEALTH

When can doctors in Denmark refuse to continue treating patients?

General Practitioners in Denmark have the right to break off a patient-doctor relationship in specific circumstances.

Published: 1 August 2024 16:35 CEST
When can doctors in Denmark refuse to continue treating patients?

Although doctors in Denmark have the right to decide not to continue treating a patient – requiring them to find a new GP – the circumstances in which this can happen are limited, and must be approved by health authorities.

The frequency in which the circumstances arise is also low. A doctor decided to no longer receive a patient on 375 occasions in 2016, according to the medical professionals’ journal Ugeskrift for Læger. The following year, newspaper Jyllands-Posten reported the figure at 458.

There are two main categories of circumstances in which a doctor can choose to take this step. The first is in instances of violent or threatening behaviour from the patient towards the doctor. 

The second (and most common) is when the doctor considers the relationship to have deteriorated to the extent that confidence has broken down, according to Ugeskrift for Læger.

It should be noted that patients are not bound by any restrictions in this regard, and can decide to change their GP without having to give any justification.

A patient also has the right to appeal against a doctor’s decision to ask them to find a new GP. This is done by appealing to the local health authority, called a Region in the Danish health system.

In such cases, a board at the regional health authority will assess the claim and if it finds in favour of the patient may order the doctor to attempt to repair the relationship.

Doctors cannot end a relationship with a patient purely because a patient has made a complaint about them to health authorities. This is because patients should have the option of making complaints without fear of consequences for their future treatment. 

However, if this is accompanied by the conclusion on the doctor’s part that there is no longer confidence in them on the part of the patient, they can remove the patient from their list.

The right to no longer see patients in the circumstances detailed above is provided by doctors’ collective bargaining agreements, the working conditions agreed on between trade unions and employer confederations under the Danish labour market system.

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