Friday April 26, the phone rings at one of the Thiennot girls’ homes. Their mother, a resident of the Lilas nursing home in Vitry-sur-Seine for almost a year and a half, has just been admitted to the emergency room of Bicêtre hospital. “She only weighed 44 kg whereas she was 12 more at the beginning of the month. Doctors detected a lung infection. She was dehydrated and had 6g of sugar in her blood. We discovered a huge hematoma on the knee“, lists Émilie. Françoise died a few weeks after her admission, in mid-May.
For her two daughters, it was the stay in a nursing home that precipitated Françoise’s death. This Thursday, May 30, they filed a complaint against the establishment. “We believe that there was negligence, suspicion of mistreatment and failure to assist a person in danger.“, she adds.
The director of the establishment, Sébastien de Benalcazar, says he understands their anger, but assures that the nursing home is not to blame. “There was no act of abuse, neglect or fall, but a progressive deterioration, by sliding, of his state of health during his year and a half spent with us“. Emilie Thiennot, who worked as a caregiver at the Charles Foix hospital in Ivry-sur-Seine, specializing in geriatrics, does not accept the explanation.
Confidence that has deteriorated
In January 2023, the girls reluctantly accepted Françoise’s entry into a retirement home. “I had been living and caring for her for 7 years and it had become difficult to manage.“, recognizes Sylvie Thiennot. In 2022, the mother made several stays at Bicêtre hospital after comas following falls.
For the management of the nursing home, the resident entered with a diminished state of health. “We always ask in the admission form for the communication of the last hospitalization report in order to be able to offer a care offer that corresponds to the needs of the person.“, continues Sébastien de Benalcazar. The Lilas nursing home has 72 beds and has a full-time doctor and employee 5/7 days, medical on-call (thanks to sharing with other nursing homes), and a nurse. There are also caregivers, a psychomotor therapist, a physiotherapist and an art therapist.
Quickly, almost two weeks after the start of their mother’s stay, the girls requested a meeting with the director, believing that there were dysfunctions. “We have repeatedly warned about the neglect of personal hygiene care, the general hygiene of the premises, the dilapidation, the unprofessionalism of certain caregivers busy on their phones“, remembers Sylvie. The director spoke to them about the upcoming rehabilitation of the retirement home, recognizing a certain dilapidation since its creation around thirty years ago. The girls also demanded better support. Gradually, they lose confidence. The day of Françoise’s transfer to Bicêtre, “they called us in the middle of the day, three hours after the emergency doctor”relates Émilie, recalling that the procedure requires the nursing home to notify the family.
Since then, the two sisters have requested the Val-de-Marne departmental council to open an investigation and have also contacted the Alma association (hello mistreatment of elderly people and disabled adults). They created an email address to collect other testimonies from families of residents of the Ehpad des Lilas ([email protected])
