The threat of closure had been hanging over the pediatric oncology department of the Raymond-Poincaré hospital in Garches (Hauts-de-Seine) for several months. After several months of battle and procedures (parents of sick children having even lodged a complaint against X for abandonment), this unique medical unit in France will definitively close its doors. The Paris Tribunal de Grande Instance has just delivered its judgment following the appeal filed on July 1 by Dr Nicole Delépine, head of the department.
The judge considered that the administration did not carry out any serious fault. “The existence of an assault is not demonstrated”, he noted in his decision, adding that “the continuity of the care” of the patients is assured.
Special medical therapy
The Garches pediatric oncology department had the specificity of offering children and adolescents with serious tumors medical therapy based on individualized clinical care. The main treatment was cancer of the bones, the nervous system and muscles, as well as brain tumors. It has often been considered the establishment of the second chance.
By justifying its decision on the advanced age of Dr Delépine and the opacity of his treatment methods, the Assistance Publique – Hôpitaux de Paris (AP-HP) has made public its decision to transfer the pediatric oncology service from Garches hospital at Ambroise-Paré hospital in Boulogne last April.
The closure of the service is scheduled for August. Dr Delépine will therefore have to retire and the sick children will be transferred to the Ambroise Paré oncology unit.
