Legal Proceedings Report • Mar 26, 2022
Legal Proceedings Report
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Orpea takes note of the announcement by Mrs Brigitte Bourguignon, Minister Delegate to the Minister of Solidarity and Health, in charge of Autonomy, of her decision to transmit to the public prosecutor the report of the control mission carried out by the General Inspectorate of Social Affairs (IGAS) and the General Inspectorate for Finance (IGF)1 . This decision will allow us to explain ourselves in serenity, to defend our rights and of course to collaborate with the judicial system whenever necessary.
We regret that the report of the inspection mission, as well as the 177 pages (excluding supporting documents) of very detailed responses that we provided, were not made public, nor made available to all stakeholders. The only elements that have been disclosed are a preliminary report presented in a damning way for Orpea and which does not take into account our responses.
Indeed, although the final report that was sent to us during the night of 25 to 26 March 2022 does shed light on certain dysfunctions, it allows us to conclude that there is no organised "system" that would lead to widespread abuse and also denies several particularly serious allegations made against us in the book The Gravediggers.
"We have taken the full measure of the legitimate emotion aroused by these dysfunctions, many of which stem from the shortage of care and support professionals that affects us as it does the entire nursing home sector.
We deeply regret them. We would like to renew our sincere apologies to the residents and their families. We are taking all the necessary measures to implement the actions relating to all the elements provided by the IGF-IGAS report. We will also apply without undue delay the recommendations made following all the expected reports."
The case being referred to justice, we cannot go into the substance of all the issues on which we are being challenged. At this stage, however, we would like to make the following clarifications:
IGF: Inspection Générale des Finances — French inspectorate general for finance – and IGAS: Inspection Générale des Affaires Sociales French inspectorate general for social affairs
A. Concerning quality and care
Orpea disagrees that the staffing ratio within its facilities is lower than the sector average. Between 2017 and 2021, the staffing ratio calculated by Orpea for care, dependency, and accommodation staff has been continually growing, from 0.621 to 0.704. Furthermore, the staffing ratio alone cannot define the quality of care. As a minimum, it should be corrected for factors that are likely to explain the variation between facilities (degree of dependence and pathology of residents, number of beds, age of the real estate, and functional nature of the residences)3 .
The nutritional policy implemented by Orpea responds to all protein and energy requirements of residents and complies with national standards set out by Anses 4 ", and
2 La prise en charge médicale des personnes âgées en EHPAD – Cour des Comptes (France's Court of Audit) February 2022
3 LES DOSSIERS DE LA DREES no. 68 • December 2020 — Le taux d'encadrement dans les Ehpad: ses déterminants et ses alternatives
4 Standing for: Agence Nationale de Sécurité Sanitaire Alimentaire, i.e. National Food Safety Agency
by HAS5 . The IGAS investigation carried out its nutritional assessment from a tool for orders placed in kg, while it is the protein and energy nutritional contributions that matter6 . The meal plan elaborated by the Medical department, the Head of Nutrition and Orpea's catering service, over five-week periods, aims at ensuring a balanced diet. It ensures that all nutritional provision is guaranteed and fully compliant with official recommendations for protein, calories, fats, and carbohydrates.
The weekly average energy provision of Orpea's menus is between 2,037 kcal/day and 2,147 kcal/day versus the recommended 1,950 kcal/day to 2,275 kcal/day. The nutrition policy also includes monthly weight monitoring and checks of albumin and BMI when necessary.
The Group has integrated an oral-dental protocol within the care plan, with an assessment by the coordinating doctor during the Standardised Geriatric Assessment performed upon entry and then once a year.
The inspectorates consider that the services are imprecisely described in the contracts or inherent to the contractual service. In our opinion, this assessment is questionable.
That being said, in order to avoid any difficulty in the future, ORPEA has decided to exclude the amount of orders for products in the care and dependency sector from the basis for calculating the fees due for services. No more fees will therefore be calculated and collected on the basis of the amount of products financed by public funds.
5 Standing for: Haute Autorité de Santé, i.e. High Authority for Health
6 See latest report from the Haut Conseil de la Santé Publique (18 May 2021, updated 24 August 2021)
7 La prise en charge médicale des personnes âgées en EHPAD – Cour des Comptes February 2022
Founded in 1989, ORPEA is one of the world leaders in Dependency care (nursing homes, assisted living, postacute and rehabilitation hospitals, mental health hospitals, home care services)
ORPEA is listed on Euronext Paris (ISIN code: FR0000184798) and is a member of the SBF 120, STOXX 600 Europe, MSCI Small Cap Europe and CAC Mid 60 indices.
Steve Grobet Dusan Oresansky Laurence Heilbronn EVP Communication and Investor Relations Tel.: +33 (0)1 44 71 94 94 Tel.: +33 (0)6 89 87 61 37 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected]
Benoit Lesieur Charlotte Le Barbier Investor Relations Director Tel.: +33 (0)6 78 37 27 60 [email protected] [email protected]
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