2024-01-16 16:30:29
The movement was born in Côtes-d’Armor in May 2023, when several mayors of rural communities realized that their nursing homes were experiencing similar difficulties, says the mayor of Plouha, Xavier Compain. Currently, 330 municipalities support this collective “Territories in resistance for old age”.
“There is a real Breton model, united”, explains Xavier Compain. 63% of nursing homes are public, 32% private non-profit and 5% commercial, according to the ARS of Brittany. Nationally, the proportion is 44% public, 31% private non-profit and 24% private.
“This model is being called into question,” worries the collective.
The Saint-Joseph residence, an associative nursing home located in the heart of Plouha, is no exception. It recorded a deficit of around 150,000 euros in 2022 and expects to still be in the red in 2023.
Like all retirement homes, it is financed by the ARS for resident care, by the department for dependency and by residents for accommodation (food, heating, etc.).
The daily cost of food alone has jumped 15% in one year
The cost of electricity, excluding heating, increased from 35,000 euros in 2020 to 135,000 euros in 2023, gives the director of the residence, Olivier Prigent, as an example. The daily cost of food has jumped 15% in one year. “There are plenty of spending lines over which we no longer have control,” he regrets.
“If I had to pass on these increases, it would be on the rate for residents, except that we are in Plouha, the income is not enormous.” “As an association, we are supposed to be accessible,” with a remaining charge of between 2,000 and 2,200 euros per month for residents, he continues, compared to double in certain private establishments.
The 78 residents are partly “agricultural retirees, with around 800 euros of pension for men, 500 for women, artisan-traders, a few people from the merchant navy”, explains the mayor.
If the nursing home were to close, “it would be really complicated”, testifies Nelly Hervault, member of the social life council of the residence. Her 90-year-old mother’s teaching retirement is enough to cover the cost of the nursing home, but “It’s not very expensive compared to everything else that’s done elsewhere.”
35 public nursing homes intend to put the Ministry of Health, the ARS and the department on notice
The overall budget of the nursing home is defined within the framework of a multi-year contract of objectives and means (CPOM) valid for five years. It does not take into account inflation or the deterioration of residents’ health and dependency. With an average age of entry into a nursing home of 87 and a half years, “five years is huge”, insists Marie-Thérèse Gicquel, president of the association which manages the Saint-Joseph residence.
“The savings made in the past allow us to hold on, but until when?” worries the director of the nursing home.
To reduce costs, he changed electricity supplier, reviewed all contracts and is considering sharing the laundry service with the neighboring public nursing home. “We must not wait for everything to come from above”, he admits.
However, the State must take its responsibilities, demands the collective “Territories in resistance for old age”.
Initially, 35 public nursing homes intend to put the Ministry of Health, the ARS and the department on notice to repair the economic damage they believe they are suffering. This would be a first in France, according to the Coudray law firm which represents them.
If these three administrations do not respond or respond in the negative within two months, these nursing homes will refer the matter to the administrative judge.
The fear of elected officials is that in the long term, nursing homes will be privatized and become too expensive for residents. “Private groups have already tried to contact us to take over,” confides Olivier Prigent.
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