Computer-generated image of the future Nantes University Hospital, on the banks of the Loire. – Art & Build-Pargade
The new Nantes University Hospital, whose earthworks are underway on the Ile de Nantes, is due to open its doors in 2026. The project, which consists of grouping the Laënnec and Hôtel-Dieu hospitals on a single site on the banks of the Loire , is disputed for its cost, its location considered difficult to access but, above all, for its small size. It had been expected for a long time that the bed capacity would be significantly reduced due to the development of the outpatient clinic.
But the health crisis has changed the situation and elected officials, including Johanna Rolland, are now convinced that the number of beds must be corrected upwards. Negotiations have been initiated in this direction with the management of the Nantes University Hospital and these seem to be on the right track, according to the president of the metropolis.
“No increase in beds without an increase in staff”
“I think I can give you a structured answer in the summer,” Johanna Rolland said Thursday. My position is known. I wish more beds, we must do better than what was planned. There is a demographic issue in this territory that must be anticipated, the population is aging. Work is progressing, in a serious way. The subject should perhaps not be approached by looking only at the Ile de Nantes site but, more generally, at the scale of the Regional hospital group (GHT) [lequel regroupe 13 établissements publics de soins]. And let’s be clear, there is no increase in the number of beds without an increase in the number of staff positions. “
The new hospital on the Ile de Nantes provides 1,380 beds, a little more than 200 beds less than currently.