"We are still seeing violations of the rights of residents in nursing homes (...). The response of the public authorities is not up to the denounced violations, nor the urgency", estimates in an interview with JDD.fr Claire Hédon, who presents Monday a follow-up report of 64 recommendations issued in May 2021 during the Covid crisis.

"We have seen an increase in reports. The Defender of Rights had investigated more than 900 complaints in connection with the elderly in nursing homes during the six years preceding the 2021 report. We have received 281 more since, "she continues. .

The follow-up that her report will present was drawn up on the basis of the complaints received and the “responses given by the ministries and public bodies to the recommendations that we had sent to them”, specifies the Defender of Rights.

It is in 43% of cases of "abuse", in 30% of "limitation of visits", in 12% of "restrictions on the freedom to come and go".

These shortcomings concern both the private and the public, according to her.

But "eighteen months after the first report, the results are extremely worrying: 9% of our recommendations have resulted in action, 55% have been announced but are struggling to materialize, and 36% remain unanswered", laments Claire Hédon.

The main recommendation of the report is to set "a minimum ratio of supervision", including "at least eight caregivers and facilitators for ten residents in nursing homes".

"In France, the ratio is 6 to 10, where the northern countries are at 10".

"If we do not progress on this, in fact we are mistreating. We are still told of forced bed rests of elderly people, two days a week, residents, who for lack of human resources remain in their pajamas all day, have not right to a shower every 15 days, have dinner at 5:30 p.m. to adapt to the schedules of the staff and to whom we put protections so as not to have to accompany them to the toilets when they are not incontinent “, explains Claire Hédon.

Another black spot, the untimely confinements in establishments following a few contaminations.

Rights Defender Claire Hébdon, October 15, 2021 in Paris © Ludovic MARIN / POOL/AFP/Archives

"Life has returned to normal for the entire population, without restrictions linked to Covid" but "some establishments reconfine residents, in their room or on their floor as soon as" they have a few positive cases ".

They "restrict visitation rights, prohibit going out, force the door of the rooms to be left open to monitor respect for distances", lists the Defender of Rights.

Asked about the recruitment crisis for old age professions, she believes that if we restore "a normal supervision rate in nursing homes, caregivers will return to work there".

© 2023 AFP