THE STATE TAKES LEGAL OVER ORPEA AND DEMANDS THE RESTITUTION OF PUBLIC GRANTS
PARIS (Reuters) – The French State will file a complaint against the group of private nursing homes Orpea and will request the reimbursement of public funding which would have been used irregularly, announced on Saturday the Minister in charge of Autonomy, Brigitte Bourguignon.
“Not only are we filing a complaint, but we are also giving ourselves the right to request the return of public grants that have not been used towards residents as they should be,” she said on France Inter.
The Minister’s announcement comes the day after the reports of the General Inspectorate of Social Affairs (IGAS) and the General Inspectorate of Finance (IGF) were submitted to the government, which report irregular financial practices.
The conclusions of the reports (…) show significant dysfunctions in the organization of the group to the detriment of the care of the residents”, writes the Ministry of Solidarity and Health in a press release.
“On the financial level, the IGAS and the IGF have brought to light presumed irregular practices, in particular the absence of accounting monitoring of surpluses on public funding and an allocation that does not comply with the regulations of expenditure to the care and dependency sections. funded by public grants,” the statement continued.
“The mission also confirms the existence of probable end-of-year discounts for suppliers presented as services and which would have the effect of artificially increasing the cost of purchases financed by public money”, adds the ministry.
Contacted, Orpea indicated that it would soon publish a press release in response to the minister’s statements.
The group was accused in the book “Les Fossoyeurs”, published at the end of January, of favoring profitability over the well-being of the elderly.
He has since said that he has commissioned audit firms to carry out external evaluation missions.
(Written by Claude Chendjou)