As part of the presidential campaign, Valérie Pécresse continues to roll out her program. Candidate LR is this time tackling the issue of retirement homes, in the spotlight after the publication of a book denouncing serious shortcomings in the private establishments of the Orpea group. She thus called on Wednesday to “radically change the model of nursing homes”.
“Upset” by the revelations of this book, the candidate described these dysfunctions as “shipwreck” and pleaded for “a mandatory reference system” to which “any public or private establishment must submit”. According to her, daily living conditions must be “strictly controlled”, from the quality of food and care to the size of the rooms, including “the time devoted individually to each resident by caregivers”.
“I assume that nursing homes that do not respect these indicators will be closed and operators who put their profit before the meaning of their mission, by undermining the human dignity of their residents, prosecuted,” added Valérie Pécresse. She also pleaded to “give priority to home care, including a doubling of tax credits for personal services”.
“Rationed” meals for more profitability
In a survey book The Gravediggers, journalist Victor Castanet describes a system where hygiene care, medical care, and even meals for residents are “rationed” to improve the profitability of the Orpea group, even though stays are billed at a high price.
Government spokesman Gabriel Attal on Wednesday described these revelations as “absolutely revolting” and considered that “if these facts are proven, they must obviously be punished with the greatest severity”. The Minister Delegate for the Autonomy of the Elderly, Brigitte Bourguignon, will also meet “as soon as possible” the Director General of Orpea, Jean-Christophe Romersi, “at the request of the Minister of Health”.