“We are going to create 6,000 additional respite places”, announces the Minister of Solidarity Aurore Bergé

The objective: “enable us to take care of those who take care of others.” The government will create “6,000 additional respite places” for the elderly and disabled people, in order to allow their caregivers to breathe, announced the Minister of Solidarity Aurore Bergé in West France, Thursday October 5. She revealed in an interview the broad outlines of the new “Act strategy for caregivers 2023-27”which is to be officially presented on Friday on Carers’ Day.

“We are going to create 6,000 additional respite places, in day care, for a weekend or a week. This will allow us to reach 40,000 respite places by 2027 for people elderly, disabled people whatever their age”she specifies. “We are going to keep the promise made to caregivers during the presidential campaign: to have, at a minimum, fifteen days of respite per year to breathe”adds the minister.

“A departmental public service of autonomy”

Eight to eleven million people support a loved one with a disability, loss of autonomy or suffering from a chronic or disabling illness, according to the Ministry of Solidarity. “One figure really appealed to me: currently, half of caregivers die before the person they help… (…) This figure demonstrates the potential deterioration in the health of caregivers. It was therefore more than urgent to act”according to Aurore Bergé.

“In all departments, we want to create a departmental public autonomy service, a sort of physical one-stop shop making life and procedures easier for caregivers”, she explains again. The minister will also present on Friday a charter of commitment signed by large French companies (SNCF, La Poste, L’Oreal, BNP, etc.) committing to better support their caring employees.