beds are closing “for lack of health professionals”, not “for lack of resources”, says the new interim Minister of Health

Guest on France Bleu Normandie this Friday, the Minister of Health affirms that the lack of beds in hospitals is mainly linked to the lack of health professionals.

“If beds [d’hôpitaux] close, it’s not for lack of resources, it’s for lack of health professionals“, estimates Agnès Firmin Le Bodo, interim Minister of Health after the resignation of Aurélien Rousseau, guest of France Bleu Normandie this Friday morning.

Lack of health professionals

The Department of Research, Studies, Evaluation and Statistics (Drees) unveiled figures on Wednesday on the evolution of the number of hospital beds in France, and the number of outpatient places. In 2022, France lost nearly 6,800 beds, or nearly 1.8% of its beds, according to Drees. Former Minister of Health Aurélien Rousseau said he wanted to reopen. “Opening a bed is always a success“, recalls Agnès Firmin Le Bodo.

She points “two phenomena“at the origin of these bed closures: “dfirstly the development of outpatient care in hospitals, that is to say that we stay as short as possible in the hospital and we go home more and more quickly“, Then “in other places beds close, it’s not for lack of resources, it’s for lack of health professionals, because next to a bed, you need health professionals“. This “construction site” has been “launched since 2017, over a long period of time“, she emphasizes.

Positive signals at AP-HP

The minister recalls the missions of her portfolio: “It’s restoring the attractiveness of health professions, but coming out of the health crisis, we have a huge challenge of retaining the professionals who are in place to stop this negative spiral in which the health system is.“.

Agnès Firmin Le Bodo nevertheless welcomes the increasing number of jobs in the AP-HP. “We also have to know how to find positive points and we have some positive signals, without denying the difficulties in which the health system still finds itself, in particular the AP-HP which for the first time has found a positive employment balance.“, welcomes the minister, who however did not announce any reopening of beds this Friday, on France Bleu Normandie.