Is mental health abandoned in France? According to the conclusions of the latest study by the French Hospital Federation carried out between April and May 2023, which BFMTV publishes exclusively on Tuesday, “structural closures of beds are numerous and have intensified after the health crisis.”
“One in four establishments have closed more than 10% of their capacity,” explains Sylvie Peron, a psychiatrist in Poitiers and chair of the FHF’s psychiatry and mental health working group, to BFMTV.
In his hospital center he had to close a unit due to Covid-19. “When we returned to a more normal organization, the 18 closed beds could not be reopened,” he laments. “As of December 31, 2022, less than half of the establishments had not been forced to close any beds (42%),” underlines the French Federation of Hospitals.
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One hundred and ten establishments responded to the survey (hospital center, specialized hospital center and regional university hospital center), or 48% of the public establishments authorized in psychiatry, specified the FHF.
Another lesson from this survey: between a quarter and three quarters of medical positions are vacant in 40% of establishments. “8% of establishments regret that more than half of their medical positions are vacant,” he reads.
“When you have two nurses to care for fifteen people, right now it’s already very good,” explains Sylvie Peron, pointing to the obvious understaffing when patients are in crisis.
At the same time, the terms to access a consultation or hospitalization are increasing, especially for minors. “In child and adolescent psychiatry, 45% of the establishments describe delays in access to outpatient treatment of between 5 months and more than a year,” the survey reads.
Recalling that suicide is the leading cause of death between the ages of 15 and 35 and that mental illnesses and psychological disorders affect nearly 13 million French people, the French Hospital Federation is therefore calling for an emergency plan for psychiatry.
“Respondents made hundreds of proposals to change the psychiatric sector,” says the FHF, which now hopes to be heard by the public authorities.
Source: BFM TV
