The government is reacting to the case of private accommodation establishments for dependent elderly people (Ehpad). The Minister Delegate for Autonomy, Brigitte Bourguignon, announced on Wednesday 26 January on RMC, lancer “a flash investigation” and summon the management of the Orpéa group for “explanations”, after the scandal revealed by an investigation in the book The Gravediggers, and which The world published the “good leaves” on Monday.
“If these facts are true, they are extremely serious and we condemn them, explains Brigitte Bourguignon. When you have this type of testimony, it moves you, it’s obvious. It doesn’t have to last. » The Minister Delegate for Autonomy also recalled, with reference to the Neuilly-sur-Seine retirement home which is singled out:
“This is one group and one establishment in particular. I wouldn’t want us to generalize. »
“Serious Allegations”
Questioned on the subject on Tuesday during the session of current affairs at the National Assembly, the Minister of Health, Olivier Véran, declared that the public authorities owed the truth “to families, caregivers and residents”.
“I asked the minister delegate in charge of autonomy, Brigitte Bourguignon, to immediately seize the group, so that answers can be provided”said Mr. Veran, speaking of“serious allegations”. “In the light of these conclusions, I will see if there is reason to initiate an investigation by the General Inspectorate into the whole group”, he added.
In the investigation by independent journalist Victor Castanet published by Fayard, testimonies and documents mention in particular rationing of food and hygiene products to the detriment of the elderly cared for in Orpéa structures. The French group manages nearly 1,200 establishments in Europe and Latin America.
However, retirement homes, even private ones, benefit from significant public funding, from the State and departmental councils, recalls the journalist, for whom “at least indirectly, part of this public money does not go to the benefit of the elderly”.
The book also looks back on the conditions of the death of the writer and actress Françoise Dorin at the beginning of 2018, following a badly treated bedsore, less than three months after her entry into one of the establishments of the Orpéa group.
The group’s share fell on the stock market
After the publication of these accusations, the title Orpéa on the Paris Stock Exchange fell by more than 16%, before its quotation was suspended, at the request of the group. And other private managers of retirement homes have also borne the brunt of this controversy: during the session, the Korian share lost more than 14% and that of LNA health more than 5%, in a market generally in very sharp drop of almost 4%.
“We formally contest all of these accusations, which we consider to be false, outrageous and prejudicial”, reacted in a press release the management of Orpéa, castigating “sensationalist excesses” and an “manifest intention to harm”. The group specifies that it has seized its lawyers to give “all the consequences, including on the judicial level”, to the publication of the book, in order “to reestablish the truth of the facts”.
“We have always placed quality before finance”, defended himself during a press point the general manager of the group, Yves Le Masne. According to him, the testimonies for the prosecution listed in the book come from a minority of former employees of the company who have nurtured a ” bitterness “ against her after leaving her.
The director general for France, Jean-Christophe Romersi, has formally denied the accusations relating to supposed rationing, in particular of hygienic protection for residents. “We never asked for any rationing. There was never any question of sacrificing any support. It does not correspond to our directives or our values., he insisted.