The shock wave of the Orpea affair after the publication of the book The Gravediggers » by the French journalist Victor Castanet is spreading abroad. This is the case in Belgium in particular where the group is also the subject of criticism and accusations of abuse. And more generally, the entire sector is now under the surveillance of the authorities, which are increasing the number of inspections.
With our correspondent in Brussels, Jean-Jacques Hery
Two managers of retirement homes, a couple, were arrested Thursday, February 3 in Flanders. The two residences concerned located in Grammont, in Flanders, are neighbors. On paper, they were authorized to accommodate autonomous seniors. Problem, when the police intervened on the scene last Thursday, they found that at least 17 occupants were in fact in a situation of dependency with insufficient care. Worse, one of the two establishments had even lost its approval last June. Immediately, residents in need of care were transferred to hospitals in the region.
Unannounced inspections
For a few days, inspections of this kind throughout the region are increasing throughout Belgium. Here too, the Orpea group, which manages 80 establishments, is particularly monitored. In Flanders, two residences were thus placed under enhanced surveillance, while in Wallonia, twelve of the group’s 18 facilities were targeted by unannounced inspections, one of them being the subject of a very worrying opinion. , according to the Walloon Minister of Health.
At the same time, the press and the media echo numerous testimonies. Children of residents or health professionals, all describe the same thing: a chronic lack of care, an economic imperative that often prevails over the health of residents, poor quality meals and a severe lack of staff.
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