A reception center for autistic patients would have filmed, constantly, all its residents without them being informed.
The specialized reception center for autists MAS Vercors, located in the town of Nandy (Seine-et-Marne), allegedly filmed all its residents without their knowledge, twenty-four hours a day, saccording to the information from Parisian. A serious accusation, brought by the Defender of Rights, who denounces a “serious form of abuse”.
Last March, several parents concerned about the fate of their child make contact with the management of the establishment, without the latter providing them with explanations. They therefore seized the Defender of Rights who decided to investigate these “mystery” cameras himself.
No one has been warned
During the investigation, what he discovers at MAS Vercors has enough to chill the blood of parents and residents. For nearly seven years, the center has been rife with CCTV cameras – in the hallways or in the bedrooms. But only problem, no one was warned by the management. Neither the parents, nor the residents and even less the National Commission for Informatics and Freedom (CNIL). The illegality is total.
And yet, for years, the actions of residents have been scrutinized, obviously with complete impunity. Well-established espionage. Initially, these cameras were intended “to intervene quickly, especially in cases of severe epilepsy”, explains to Parisian a former educator, employed by MAS Vercors. However, “the night staff who had the screens in front of them or the educational staff who made the transmissions never returned information on the crises that had taken place,” he adds.
Daily acts and gestures
It is in a room, called the “educators room”, that all the screens are stored in the form of a mosaic. And this room is accessible to all. Moreover, as revealed The Parisian, the 12 rooms are also filmed, which leaves no privacy to the residents, as well as to the people who have come to visit them. The former employee says: “Some residents could get up at night to defecate on their bed, or had intimate behaviors. There were always colleagues who laughed stupidly at this kind of situation ”. “The residents especially have sexual needs and desires, which is normal. But it is unacceptable that others can see that, ”denounces the mother of one of the residents.
The establishment reacts
For its part, the management of the establishment – which was quick to react – assured the Parisian that these cameras “are directed only towards the beds”, adding that the authorities have already been warned of the installation of the latter. Contacted by Europe 1, the president of the Sésame-Autisme Gestion et Perspectives association, Marcel Hérault, also responsible for the establishment in question, defends himself. For him, all the parents had been informed. But he admits, not all procedures were followed. The former director of the establishment would not have “been able to write a protocol for use”, and this “could have led to abuses”.
Abuses already denounced in psychiatric hospitals
This is not the first time that health establishments have been singled out for similar practices. Last May, the Controller of Places of Deprivation of Liberty (CGPL) criticized the practices of French psychiatric hospitals. In some structures, privacy rights are violated. CCTV cameras have been installed in the isolation rooms. And “in some cases, depending on their workload, rather than going to the isolated person, the nurses will simply check their condition remotely”, denounced the CGPL at the time. And in the majority of cases, the cameras also film the toilets… “removing all privacy from the patient who can be ” viewed ” in his most intimate gestures,” continues the Controller.
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