“We are an ethical business“, assured Sophie Boissard, general manager of the Korian group, on Tuesday February 1 on franceinfo while the leaders of Orpea have been in turmoil since the publication of the book-investigation The Gravediggers Who refers to “malfunctions” generalized within the group’s French accommodation establishments for dependent elderly people (Ehpad).
>> Suspicions of abuse at Orpea: six questions about the operation of nursing homes in France
The leaders of Orpea are convened by the minister responsible for the autonomy of the elderly. Brigitte Bourguignon, who also announced on Tuesday the opening of an administrative investigation and a financial investigation. This is the first time that the director of Korian, the first private group of Ehpad in France, reacts to this affair which splashes its main competitor but which also affects Korian since the action of the group has lost more than 20% since the release of this book.
franceinfo: Who are you talking to? To the employees of your group, to the families or to your shareholders?
Sophie Boissard: I would like to speak to the old age community. I want to speak to seniors, families and caregivers who are flabbergasted and shocked by what they find in this book. I want to address the community of carers and employees, in particular those in my company, more than 26,000 carers in France, who all tell me that they are really, deeply, both shocked and discouraged.
What is said in this book is the description of a cynical and abusive corporate system that would place profit above all else. It is at odds with what the other players in the sector, at least what happens in my house, do on a daily basis, the way in which they work with the elderly or with fragile people. Our policy, the instructions, the recommendations which are given by the medical management, it is obviously: not rationing. Each establishment orders, uses the material it needs, it’s obvious and I don’t even understand how such a thing can cross your mind.
A group action has been launched against your competitor Orpéa. But the lawyer who lists the complaints says that she has received dozens of them also targeting your establishments. Do you know ? Have families contacted you?
I am not aware. I heard this on Monday. I know that families can be faced with difficult situations. Our professions are difficult professions, professions in which we support fragile people, people at the end of their life and no one is perfect. There are things that can be badly experienced, go wrong.
The first thing is dialogue and that’s why we have social life councils and family representatives in the establishments. That’s why we have a mediator. We are probably the only player to have a mediator, who is a former magistrate, who is there so that the families, so that people in general can speak to him and that he can understand what is happening and find solutions. We need trust and trust comes through dialogue.
People today doubt the living conditions in all nursing homes. Are you ready, for example, to remove doubt, to open wide the doors of your establishments so that they are all checked?
Of course I’m ready for it. Our common cause, for the actors of the sector, with the public authorities, the families or the associations, is to restore confidence. Old age, support for the elderly, fragile, deserves much better than what we see today. How do we do ? First, we give ourselves quality standards that are binding on everyone. It exists in all other countries. Korian is present in Germany and the Netherlands. We clearly have rules in each of these countries. How many caregivers per bed? We have rules.
“In France, today, there are no quality standards for medico-social establishments, for medicalized retirement homes as there are, for example for clinics or health establishments.”
Sophie Boissard, CEO of the Korian groupat franceinfo
There needs to be transparency in each establishment towards families and local stakeholders. The figures must be published. For example in Germany, the results of the audits are published and accessible to anyone.
And then, I believe that we really need an alignment of all the players over time. We need to come up with new solutions. We need to offer more home help. We need to offer beguinages for people who are fragile, but who are not dependent. For that, we all have to think together over time. Finally, we need to train. Today, we train about 50% of the number of caregivers or caregivers, nurses that we need.
Today a place in a private Ehpad costs around 40% more than in a public establishment. However, in a private nursing home, there are 30% fewer staff. How do you explain this discrepancy?
These are generic numbers. On average, there are seven people for every ten residents. According to what is said, it is rather 5.5 caregivers for ten people at Orpéa. I ask that enforceable rules be set that are known to everyone. So that we can really objectify what quality support is.
I would also like us to get out of the fantasy of the incredible profits that would be made on the backs of old people. What I hear, what shocks me personally, and clashes with my conception, my ethics. Just a figure: the level of net profit made by the Korian group in France is 5%. Because we employ a lot. We have hired 5,000 people on permanent contracts in 2021, we are investing 300 million and therefore, what remains at the end is 5%, and most of it is reinvested. So, frankly, to imagine that there would be huge margins that would be made on the back of public finances, on the back of the elderly, is wrong. We are an ethical business and it is important that everyone hears that.