Résumé
For several years, the number of emergency room visits has been constantly increasing. Some of these visits are non-emergency and should be treated on an outpatient basis. The inadequacy of the supply of general medicine is often blamed for these inappropriate consultations. This study seeks to determine the reasons that lead these patients to consult the emergency room and to evaluate their satisfaction with the general medicine services offered by their GP.Methods: prospective descriptive survey by questionnaire conducted in the emergency department of the Nîmes University Hospital during 4 weeks. Inclusion of adult patients presenting spontaneously to the emergency department for somatic consultations during the opening hours of the general practice.Results: 308 patients were analyzed. The main reasons for seeking emergency care were the need for further examination (50.0%) or specialist advice (22.4%), the perceived seriousness or urgency of the condition (46.8%), and the lack of improvement in the patient's condition following a first consultation with their general practitioner (23.7%). 34.8% of patients expressed difficulties in accessing primary care. More than 65% of patients were satisfied with the availability of their GP and 81.9% recommended him/her.Conclusion: patients' concerns and demands regarding their health explain the majority of inappropriate recourse to emergency departments. Even if the supply of general medicine is felt to be satisfactory, there is still room for improvement, particularly for unscheduled care.