Health establishments continue their “ambulatory turn”, according to the Ministry of Health, with the creation last year of some 2,700 day hospital places.
Le Monde with AFP
This is not what is called a white operation. More than 4,300 full hospital beds were closed in 2021 in French health establishments, which at the same time created 2,700 partial hospital places, According to a study by the Ministry of Health published Tuesday September 28.
In addition to the COVVI-19 epidemic, which still led last year to close services and double rooms, hospital capacities also underwent “staff constraints not allowing to maintain the beds” , explains the statistical direction of social ministries (Drees).
Bond of home hospitalization
As of December 31, the 2,984 public and private hospitals had very exactly 382,587 full hospital beds, or 4,316 less in one year. A provisional figure in slight withdrawal compared to 2020 (minus 4,900) but still greater than the decreases noted before the health crisis.
In total, more than 21,000 beds were removed between the end of 2016 and the end of 2021, mostly corresponding to the first five -year term of Emmanuel Macron. Twice as much as under his predecessor, François Hollande (minus 10,000), but much less than during the mandate of Nicolas Sarkozy (minus 37,000).
This long -term trend “reflects the desire to reorganize the offer in a context of ambulatory turn”, an expression devoted to designate the growing share of care without night in the hospital, especially in surgery. The number of “day” hospitalization places continued its increase: 2,743 were opened in 2021, bringing their total to 82,502, or 9,000 more in five years.
Home hospitalization has also recorded a clear increase in its capacities, 6.8 % after a jump of more than 10 % in 2020. With 22,800 patients “which can be taken care of simultaneously in the territory”, This management method now represents “7.6 % of total capacities in full hospitalization” excluding psychiatry, compared to 2.1 % in 2006.
