The military instruction hospital (HIA) of Val-de-Grâce could tidy up its beds and close its doors to patients to completely change functions. The information is revealed by the newspaper Le Monde and has not officially filtered. No public statement is planned for the moment, specifies the daily, and the health authorities do not say a word on the subject.
The issue indeed raises the concern of hospital staff. “Since the end of 2013, many general physicians, service bosses have left. Then a restructuring plan proposed by the management was retoked by the military health service. And the work of bringing infrastructure up to standard was stopped. More and more officers are telling us that we are going to close. We would like to know more, “said Arnaud de Cooman, FO delegate, the majority union, quoted by Le monde.
A prestigious hospital that is expensive
The hospital, founded in 1796, is known for treating prestigious patients, whether French or foreign heads of state. Have passed in these places a certain François Mitterrand (officially for back pain but unofficially for his prostate cancer), Jacques Chirac (for “head pain and vision problems”), or Abdelaziz Bouteflika, the Algerian president (for a stroke).
The place was a pioneer in France in the field of nuclear medicine and neurosurgery, in addition to being at the forefront in the use of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and the first surgical robot.
Problem, today, “Le Val” would cost too much. While it’s time for budget savings, the management of the 380 beds as well as the necessary renovations would add too much for the Ministry of Defense.
Different options are on the table: a total or partial closure or a transfer to the Assistance publique – Hôpitaux de Paris (AP-HP). But the latter does not seem to be ready to assume and bear the cost of a possible upgrading project.
If the first option seems the most plausible, according to Le Monde, the government should sign the end of speculation and with it, the end, final or not, of Val-de-Grâce.
