This time, the appointment is made.
After declaring her intention to summon the managing director of Orpea, the Minister responsible for Autonomy Brigitte Bourguignon specifies this Thursday the date of the interview which should make it possible to "shed all the light on the practices and dysfunctions denounced" by the journalist Victor Castanet, in his investigative book “Les Fossoyeurs”.
The general manager of the group Jean-Christophe Romersi will thus have to go on February 1 to the Ministry of Solidarity and Health, "at the request of Olivier Véran", for "first clarifications on the various facts mentioned" in this book released on Wednesday , which describes the mistreatment suffered by some residents of these private nursing homes.
The minister “will also seek to ensure that actions have indeed been implemented by the group, since the time of reports and controls, to remedy this”, indicates a press release.
The book, which outraged the government, elected officials and public opinion, describes a system where hygiene care, medical care and even residents' meals are "rationed" to improve the group's profitability.
And this, while stays are billed at a high price - several thousand euros per month.
Accusations "false, outrageous and prejudicial"
Orpea disputes these accusations, which it describes as “false, outrageous and prejudicial”.
The group announced Wednesday evening that it had commissioned “two leading firms to conduct an independent assessment in order to shed light on all the serious allegations” against it.
“The revelations made in this book are absolutely revolting, your stomach is in knots reading such things.
And if these facts are proven, they will obviously have to be sanctioned with the greatest severity ”, was indignant the spokesman of the government, Gabriel Attal, at the end of the Council of Ministers on Wednesday.
“Our elders deserve respect, they deserve the best, and there is no question that such acts can be tolerated in our country,” he added.
Read alsoScandal in the Ehpad of the Orpea group: “The primary aim is to reduce costs”
A specialist in private clinics and retirement homes, the French group Orpea is present in 23 countries with a total of 1,156 sites.
In France, it manages a network of 354 establishments, which take care of fragile people and those with a loss of autonomy.
The revelations of the book caused Orpea shares to fall on the Paris Stock Exchange.
It fell another 21% on Wednesday, ending at 43.66 euros at the close.
In total, the action has plunged some 47% since Monday and the publication of extracts from the book in Le Monde.
