The Nantes University Hospital (nearly 13,000 employees including 3,000 doctors, internal and external, medical students) announced to the Supervisory Board an overall deficit of more than eight million euros for 2023. The latest negative assessment of the largest public hospital in the West dates back to 2010. This is therefore news that may seem worrying, while work on the future University Hospital, which is due to open in 2027, is in full swing. And that around 460 million loans to be repaid will be committed (90 million have already been) as part of this enormous project.
That said, the financial depression of public hospitals is general. “The French university hospitals together show a deficit of 850 million euros, recalls Philippe El Sair, the general director. In 2023, inflation resulted in 20 million euros in additional spending at Nantes University Hospital, including 17 million euros for energy alone. »
“The deficit result for 2023 (0.5% of products) is the consequence of inflation but also of the decline in medical activity which represents 70% of the CHU’s activity, underlines the director who believes in the future. The medical business recovered spectacularly in 2024.” The same confidence is put forward for the financing of the future CHU. “69 million euros of self-financing could be set aside in 2023.”
Concerns
Olivier Terrien, general secretary of the CGT of the CHU and member of the supervisory board, does not share this vision at all: “The self-financing capacity does not live up to initial expectations. To finance the future CHU, on the island of Nantes, the CHU will have to take on more debt than expected, not to mention the additional costs not taken into account. » All of this ” risk of lead us into a financial impasse, which would prevent us from developing and investing in new technology, an impasse detrimental to professionals and patients.” The CGT is calling on the State to finance 70% of the construction of the future CHU through subsidies, as is the case in Caen (Pas-de-Calais), and not 24%, as currently in Nantes.
