The investigation book The Gravediggers by Victor Castanet, excerpts from which were published in the newspaper The world draws up a damning observation of the situation of private nursing homes, in particular those of the sector leader Orpéa. This book published on Wednesday January 26 by Fayard editions. Lack of staff, lack of care, rationing of equipment, mistreatment linked to a race for profits, organized by the leaders of the group, to the detriment of staff and especially residents. The journalist denounces “a purely accounting management of the care of the elderly”. If thecompany has “formally challenged” the charges, these Tuesday cause many reactions to the National Assembly.
>> “Les Fossoyeurs”: three questions about the book that shakes Orpea, French giant of private nursing homes
For Damien Abad, leader of the LR group in the Assembly, “This indignity towards people at the end of life is unacceptable”. He wants an investigation to be opened, but beyond the investigations into the malfunctions, the LR deputy is asking for a “dependency reform” to determine “How can we fix this”. The member for Ain is calling for the Estates General of Dependency to bring public and private actors around the table. It is also the angle of the centrist Jean-Christophe Lagarde, president of the UDI, support of Valérie Pécresse in the presidential election, who points the finger at the hole in the racket in the balance sheet of the government.
“There is the investigation of course, but also the establishment of dependency financing in our country which remains an unfinished promise. We have been talking about it for fifteen years, it has not been moving forward for fifteen years. .”
Jean-Christophe Lagarde, President of the UDIat franceinfo
“At the end of his mandate, Mr. Macron pretended with budgets that do not exist. It is time to get started”, he adds to the address of the president. But the leader of the UDI deputies remains cautious, speaking of private groups that welcome seniors properly and in humane conditions.
The regional health agencies are responsible for controls at the regional level. For the PS deputy of the Landes, Boris Vallaud, it would be necessary to go further in these controls. “We asked, in particular through the voice of our colleague Christine Pires-Beaune, that, as is possible for prisons, parliamentarians can go to nursing homes in particular to see how they work.” According to him, this suggestion might make it possible to have “more transparency on what is happening in certain establishments.”
One of the nursing homes implicated in the book The Gravediggers was indeed targeted by such an investigation, it was Olivier Véran, the Minister of Health who confirmed it in response to a deputy.
“The conclusions of this mission were delivered to the establishment in February 2019 for action. It will also be an opportunity to verify that all the corrective measures have been put in place.”
Olivier Véran, Minister of Healthat franceinfo
“In any case, I take this subject very seriously, very seriously and with total determination”, assures the minister to the whole hemicycle. Olivier Véran announces to seize the Orpéa group to ask for explanations. Depending on the answers, he will see if a survey by the general inspectorate should be set up for the entire group to check the conditions of care for the elderly.