Where can I find an English-speaking doctor in France?
Doctors are not allowed to ‘promote’ themselves via advertisements
Not being able to explain your medical issues can be frustrating
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Reader Question: How can I find an English speaking doctor in my area? My current GP only speaks French and I struggle to explain my medical issues. We live in the rural south-west.
The first thing to note is that unfortunately, depending on where you are and how rural your location, the issue of medical deserts may affect your ability to find a local doctor, let alone one with English language skills.
Also doctors are not allowed to promote themselves through advertisements or publicise additional information about themselves in a way that is ‘too self-promotional’ on medical lists.
This can make it more difficult to find a doctor with additional language skills or other proficiencies.
However, there are a few places where you can find details of English-speaking doctors.
Doctolib and embassy lists
The first place to look would be the Doctolib website, an online platform for making medical appointments.
Read more: Doctolib to launch AI medical assistant to free up doctors in France
When making an appointment, the website shows the languages the doctor can speak, and you can filter for English speakers, and you can also look specifically for a general doctor (généraliste), or for any other type of specialist.
Note, however, that not all doctors in an area may be shown on the site, and there is no indication of a doctor’s level of English. So even if a doctor has English as a listed language, they may not be fluent, but only understand the basics.
Alternatively, the Australian and United States embassies provide a list of English-speaking doctors, which you can find by clicking on the above links.
The US list is for medical professionals in or around Paris – there is also the American Hospital in Paris, but again this is likely too far from you in the south-west for your needs.
Word of mouth
You can ask neighbours and French colleagues if they know any doctors with a good level of English (or to ask their doctor if they know one).
There is a better chance of finding high-quality English language healthcare In the south-west, south-east (around Nice), Paris, and Lyon due to the large number of Anglophones in these regions.
Read more: Telecom firms, utilities: which offer English language services in France?
Read more: 112, 15, 17: Do you know the emergency numbers to use in France?
