A document intended for the cooks of the group reveals menus dictated by cost control, to the detriment of the nutritional needs of the residents.
The revelations are linked on the daily life of the residents of the establishments of the Orpea group, since the publication of the book investigation by Victor Castanet, The Gravediggers (Fayard). The author recounts a management made up of negligence, mistreatment and rationing. Several documents, and in particular menus, consulted by The world, reveal today a penny-less management of residents’ meals. Even if it means sacrificing their nutritional needs.
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The meat service is in particular subject to meticulous supervision. In a sheet intended for the cooks of the group, dated 2012, it is recommended to serve exactly 75 grams of beef, mixed with exactly 8 grams of crushed rusks, to each resident. This preparation ofmixed beeffor elderly people who have difficulty eating, has a protein intake well below the needs of an elderly person. Each serving has around 20 grams of protein, whereas a senior citizen normally needs 100 grams of protein each day.
Master the costs
The document consulted by The world seems to prove that residents will not find the missing proteins in the rest of the menus. For example, Orpea offers, as an accompaniment, “mixed salad», made with lettuce, water and vegetable thickener. Bread, which fills the stomach, also occupies an important place in the menus. To compensate for the nutritional deficiencies of residents, Orpea also uses food supplements, and in particular proteins – often to the detriment of the taste quality of the meals.
These menus to the nearest gram aim to control costs, so as not to exceed a food budget of 4.40 euros per resident and per day. This same logic applies, according to Victor Castanet, to all goods consumed by residents, and in particular diapers used by incontinent people.
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In the turmoil since the publication of the book, Orpea has denied the accusations of abuse, judging that the facts depicted do not correspond “absolutely not to the reality of life in [leurs] establishments“. “There’s never been any restriction, there’s never been any rationing, it doesn’t fit our guidelines, it doesn’t fit our values“, pleaded Jean Christophe Romersi, general manager of the group, at the end of January. An administrative investigation and a financial investigation have been launched by the Minister Delegate for Autonomy, Brigitte Bourguignon.
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