Together, they represent several thousand families of nursing home residents. In mid-January, sixteen local associations and groups of relatives of residents decided to come together to propose eleven concrete measures allowing better care for residents in nursing homes. Aimed at the government and the candidates for the presidential election, these recommendations found a new echo after the publication of the book The Gravediggers of Victor Castanet, who denounces in particular serious malfunctions and mistreatment in the establishments of the Orpéa group.
“The themes developed in our proposals correspond almost entirely to what is denounced in this survey. It is unthinkable to continue like this, we must act”, confides to L’Express Patrick Collardot, president of the association. TouchPasMyOld. At the initiative of the project, soberly baptized “For residents still citizens in Ehpad“, the man is worried about the “systemic mistreatment” which is developing within certain structures. Above all, he pleads for the collective action of the families of residents of Ehpad who, according to him, intend “to act before the emergency”. Interview.
L’Express: Why did you choose to bring together 16 collectives and associations to present to the presidential candidates your proposals concerning the care of residents in nursing homes?
Patrick Collardot: Because the situation has become unacceptable. During the Covid, the relatives of the residents were separated for six months from their families, while being faced with very brutal and often opaque decisions on the part of certain establishment management. This participated in a real politicization of the families of residents: they contacted their mayors, their deputies, their prefects, to try to make things change. Many had already noticed serious dysfunctions, but with the pandemic, it was too much.
On the website of the TouchePasMesVieux association, many told us that we were their last resort to act: I therefore tried to bring together all the collectives that already existed, to create a representative mass as the elections approached. It seems to me that it’s time to put a program in place, to get our demands across, and I hope that they will be taken into account by the presidential candidates. Or by Emmanuel Macron himself, perhaps he will agree to pass some proposals before the end of his five-year term…
What exactly are these proposals?
There are eleven in all, discussed between the different collectives. Some were immediately unanimous, such as the increase in the number of nursing staff – properly trained and paid – or the immediate resumption of an Old Age law, which we consider essential to provide lasting answers, solutions and funding for our seniors. Others have been added little by little by each association: on my side, for example, I insisted on the creation of a Council for Social Life [CVS] operational and decision-maker in all nursing homes, which is not the case today.
We also propose, among other things, the abolition or modification of the “police power” of the management of Ehpad, which has led to unacceptable deprivations of liberty, in particular during the Covid crisis, or even an adaptation of the existing legal basis and dedicated health protocols to correct deviations from a health emergency plan. In certain structures, there is today neither traceability, nor transparency, nor publicity of the decisions, no possible recourse for the families: that must change. We therefore also propose transparency on all the elements of public financing of nursing homes which must be accessible to all… And the creation of an independent body for the management of disputes between management and residents and their families. The relatives of the residents must at all costs be listened to more by the directions.
Why were the families’ demands precisely so little heard until now?
Because many felt helpless and isolated at first. A good part of the close relations do not dare to intervene because they are afraid of the repercussions which there could be on the assumption of responsibility of their parents. Most of the time, the families therefore chose to remain silent. And for those who speak, it is difficult. They begin by expressing their disappointment in the structures, unofficially or face to face in the director’s office. They are told that it will work out, but there is often no report, no post-meeting report, or even no note-taking. Annoyed, the families then send emails, letters, to a management that does not always respond. They then contact the ARS, which does not respond further. They face walls everywhere, then they give up. Within an nursing home, relatives who complain can quickly be considered “borers”, and that is what must change. It is absolutely necessary that the families can exchange serenely with the management, and that their word is heard.
Isn’t this normally the role of CVS in nursing homes?
On paper, yes: it is an instance of participatory democracy that allows the eyes of residents, families and staff to be seen. But in reality, only one out of 50 CVS works correctly! There are many structures in which CVS assemblies are scheduled but do not take place, others where the families of the residents are not present, still others where the CVS simply does not exist. And not to mention nursing homes where no information on the subject is published: some families of residents do not know what it is, or even that this advice exists. All the people who could be candidates are not notified, or notified too late, for example.
And when these assemblies take place, they are often useless. Relatives told us that they found themselves alone in an office facing the management committee, sometimes made up of five or six people. Their word is often questioned, inaudible. And when it is finally heard, the law indicates that this council is purely advisory, and not decision-making. So there is a problem! This is also part of our proposals: create an operational and decision-making CVS in all nursing homes. If this had been put in place earlier, I think that a certain number of malfunctions could have been brought up.
In your opinion, will the publication of Victor Castanet’s investigative book and the media coverage of the subject allow this theme to be integrated into the presidential campaign?
We hope. It’s been pretty much a minor topic so far, so I’m glad we can talk about it. We realize how interesting the theme is: today there are 600,000 residents of nursing homes, which represents around 2% of the French population. In a few years, there will be more than a million residents in Ehpad: if we count their families, that represents a lot of voters… With the recent revelations of Victor Castanet and the number of articles written on the subject, I don’t see the subject coming back. I don’t think it will be a small wave: a number of complaints will be filed by families, including by unions. The collectives are outraged, even if the situation was already known to most associations… When you look at social networks, there are more and more testimonies, unbearable examples. On our side, a number of people have spontaneously offered to help, to join the TouchePasMesVieux association… There is a real movement. I would also like to remind you that if politicians have shown little or no interest in this theme until now, ordinary citizens have always felt concerned by mistreatment in nursing homes.
Since the media coverage of your proposals, have you had any feedback from political figures?
For the moment, we have not heard back, except that one of our members met with Valérie Pécresse’s health committee. It was a team that listened to her, but we absolutely have no idea what was retained or not from this exchange. On the subject, I am quite perplexed by the silence of the candidates… The only way to change the situation therefore remains mobilization. If citizens continue to pressure the government – this one or the next – things will change.
What are the other levers of action for the associations and collectives that you represent?
We must first relay requests that are credible. Then accompany the families, encourage them to write to their deputies, their mayors, to launch group actions. Send our proposals to the presidential candidates, circulate them so that they have maximum visibility… And work on the body of the future government.