Retirement homes show their credentials

New era, new slogan. “Orpea is changing! With you, for you. This is now the watchword at the world leader in nursing homes, which intends to “associate all of its stakeholders with the refoundation of the group”. Since the publication of the book Les Fossoyeurs, a year ago, not a week has passed without the private operator making amends. Estates General, appointment of a new general manager after the dismissal of the previous one, reimbursement of the entire amount due to the Solidarity Fund for Autonomy (CNSA)… The giant of retirement homes even endowed itself at the beginning of January a director of ethics, Professor Emmanuel Hirsch, in charge of the “renewal of the ethics policy” of the group.

Beyond Orpea, the whole sector is showing its credentials. On January 17, more than half of the members of Synerpa, the union bringing together the main groups of private residences, signed a charter. Among their commitments, the evaluation of the “quality of care and life” of residents by an external body, the results of which will be published each year. Establishments that do not comply by 2025 will no longer be able to join the union, warns the latter.

The great transformation of retirement homes towards more ethics and transparency, Annette Debéda does not really believe in it. “Today, families continue to be sidelined, assures the co-founder of the Circle of Caregivers in Ehpad (CPAE). Some establishments have reopened their doors, but there are still a lot of diehards, less in the private sector than in the public and associations. As proof of this, she points to the testimonials she regularly receives from poor families. “A few days ago, the daughter of a resident received an email informing her that her mother would now be wearing a hospital gown open in the back to facilitate care. This lady will therefore no longer wear street clothes until the end of her life. Admittedly, we are not talking about blows or falls, but it is a terrible attack on dignity, ”she chokes. A story that echoes the gloomy picture painted by the defender of rights, Claire Hédon, in her recent report on nursing homes, whose situation, she writes, remains “worrying”.

From there to say that nothing has changed? This is stated by Luc Broussy, president of the France Silver Eco association. “Victor Castanet’s denunciations are legitimate, but they have created an unprecedented situation of divorce between public opinion and nursing homes. It is very anxiety-provoking, for both staff and families. Like Claire Hédon, the specialist denounces the weakness of the political response. “Admittedly, there was a wave of checks in the spring, but overall things continued as before. The old age law has even been abandoned! »

As if to better anticipate these criticisms, Jean-Christophe Combe reaffirmed, on Tuesday January 24, his desire for “deep transformation” of the sector. The Minister for Solidarity and Autonomy took the opportunity to announce an emergency plan to speed up the qualification of new professionals, as well as the holding of general meetings on mistreatment and effectiveness, “at the end of the first quarter”, of a national mechanism for collecting complaints.

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