The company wants to operate its transformation. Orpea, the group of private nursing homes shaken since January by a scandal questioning its practices, announced on Monday September 26 that it intended to recruit massive staff for “better care for residents, staff and caregivers through an ambitious recruitment and continuing education program”. The objective is to recruit 550 people per month by the end of the year, half of them nursing assistants, before moving to 800 monthly recruitments from 2023.
The group, which manages more than 350 establishments in France, presented the conclusions of its “General States”, launched in May to collect the grievances and suggestions of residents, their families and staff.
A group transformation plan “within a few months”
Present in twenty-three countries, Orpea has been in turmoil since the release of the investigative book The Gravediggers, of journalist Victor Castanet, last January, which reveals facts of mistreatment of residents, and accuses the group of accounting fraud and questionable practices in human resources.
Following these revelations, justice opened in April a preliminary investigation for institutional mistreatment and financial offenses, following a report by the government.
“We are in the process of recruiting, it is extremely difficult, it is not just a problem for Orpea”commented to journalists its new general manager, Laurent Guillot.
To speed up its recruitments, the group must “also rebuilding the human resources team, in particular with staff in the regions to recruit as close as possible to our establishments”, underlined Mr. Guillot. The latter will present a group transformation plan “within a few months”.
The health sector, and particularly the care of the elderly, is currently facing a shortage of staff, due to working conditions considered difficult for low salaries.