Twelve of the eighteen rest and care houses managed by the French group were inspected by the agency for a quality life. Since 2018, ten Belgian institutions have been complained.
by
Christie Morreale, the Walloon Minister of Health, delivered on Tuesday 1 February, before a regional parliament commission, the first results of a public inquiry for ORPEA institutions. The agency for a quality life has performed in the last days “unexpected” visits in 12 of the 18 houses of rest and care managed by the French group. Two received a “mixed” opinion and their situation will be analyzed more in depth. A third institution would be in a “very worrying” situation, the socialist minister said. Six other places still need to be inspected.
M me Morrele intends, moreover, to recover complaints that have targeted Orpea since 2018 and which concerned ten institutions. Two of these thirteen complaints were judged “founded”, seven “partially founded” and one was abandoned. The grievances of the complainants, 16 of which are being examined, concerned the competence of staff, food, patient rights, medical monitoring, billing, etc. Three other files were opened after recent complaints, after the publication of the book the graves, Victor Castanet (Fayard, 400 pages, 22.9 euros).
In Belgium, the revelations of the journalist have made great noise. The world’s number one EHPAD employs a total of 4,200 people and manages 6,200 places, including 4,210 in Wallonia. Faced with the content of the book, M me morreale had evoked “intolerable facts” making a survey of the situation of ORPEA in the region, but more generally throughout a sector that brings together A total of 600 retirement homes with 260 million euros of subsidies. The private sector does not receive a direct aid, but residents see some of their expenses covered by the public authorities.
Many testimonials
For unions, investigations and recent revelations only confirm testimony received daily. In a statement released a few days ago, the National Employee Central Emphasizes “marketing drift” and “an implacable financial logic, because relocated and any powerful”. Belgian organizations now emphasize the need for a return to public management and, at European level, the care of seniors dependent on protected public services of market laws.
At this point, the Wallonia government has not yet had any contact with the Belgian direction of Orpea. He intends to meet him, in the company of the unions, after the conclusion of his investigations. Geert Uytterschaut, the executive director of the company, published a few days ago a statement indicating that his company was “proud of the work provided” by his teams, attentive to the values of “humanity, humility, professionalism and loyalty”. He invoked the scarcity of staff capable of assuming essential functions to justify the fact that “the answers do not correspond to all expectations”.
You have 25.84% of this article to read. The rest is reserved for subscribers.