The Senate Committee on Social Affairs will acquire, Tuesday, the prerogatives of a commission of inquiry to investigate the Group’s practices. The National Assembly hesitates to seize the file while the June elections approach.
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The political calendar is not that of investigations, especially in election period. While several opposition members requested the creation of a commission of inquiry following the revelations of the book of Victor Castanet, the graves (Fayard, 400 pages, 22.90 euros) on the practices of the group of medical retirement homes. Orpea, it’s finally the Senate who should take care of investigating. His social affairs commission will have the prerogatives of a commission of inquiry, Tuesday, February 8. It will be intended to “review the supervision of EHPAD controls [accommodation institution for dependent seniors]”.
See you soon two months of the presidential election, the senators plan to audition the members of the Government and the health authorities concerned by the facts described in the book of Mr. Castanet. Posted on January 26, he draws up a very critical picture of the operation of ORPEA facilities, presented as a very high financial profitability imperative leading to rationments and chronic resident abuse, despite expensive tariffs. Charges denied by the Group and who reacted the political class and public opinion.
“The [investigation commission] could thus ensure (…) the proper execution of the control missions [of the EHPAD] but also of their legislative, regulatory or budget translations”, explains the President of the Commission. Social Affairs in the Senate, Catherine deroche (Republicans, LR, Maine-et-Loire) to his colleagues, in a letter dated February 4th. It is the Senator (LR) of the Loire Bernard Good who will be responsible for carrying out this work.
“We are kept by the agenda”
For his part, the National Assembly still hesites to fully seize the file. The River Hearing of the Group’s leaders before the Social Affairs Committee, Wednesday 2 February, had quotably annoyed the elected officials. “It was felt that they mocked the national representation,” says the president and a member of Parliament (the Republic in March) on the golden side, Fadila Khattabi.
By the end of January, five socialist MPs wrote to M me Khattabi to request that the National Assembly Committee on Social Affairs with expanded investigation powers. “It would force the witnesses to come to the hearings, including the former leaders [of Orpea] as Yves Le Masne, explains the member (Socialist Party, PS) of the Landes Boris Vallaud. In addition, they speak under oath.” With these special powers, the Commission could also “be given the documents it would judge necessary for its investigations,” says the mail.
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