Deterioration of activity, non-existent management... the Saint-Cyr-au-Mont-d'Or hospital center criticized by the Court of Auditors

The Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes regional audit office has audited the accounts and management of the Saint-Cyr au Mont d'Or hospital for the financial years 2012 to 2023. According to the report, several degradations and failings have been noted at the public health establishment specializing in mental health.

This inspection comes after the center was placed under the interim administration of the director general of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes regional health agency (ARS) in 2022. The reasons were several serious failings that then undermined patient safety.

Despite ranking third in the Rhône region in terms of stays, patients followed, and outpatient procedures in its field, the facility is experiencing a significant decline in activity. Between 2015 and 2022, the active outpatient queue fell by 7.9%, the number of days by 7%, and the number of patients by 15%. The number of procedures performed by healthcare professionals fell by more than 23%, while those performed by medical staff fell by 35%. The report points to excessively long lengths of stay, "on an almost constant rise, contrary to the objectives set by the ARS."

Other notable degradations include those concerning the reception and working conditions of professionals. The reason: the lack of financial investment by the center "while the CHSCMO was entitled to it, the latter chose not to request any assistance, either in terms of investment or debt reduction (...) Yet its needs are significant," the chamber points out.

On the "steering" side, the latter appears to be "nonexistent," as the report demonstrates. The chamber reportedly found no trace of a request for documents or a study made by the supervisory board. Neither the supervisory board nor the management had ever monitored the establishment's project: "It could hardly have been otherwise, as it appears to be largely unoperational due to the non-quantifiable objectives and indicators it contains ," the chamber reveals.

"Although mandatory, pole contracts between management and pole heads were non-existent before 2014 and have not been renewed since 2019. Those submitted to the chamber do not comply with regulations and do not grant any autonomy to the poles in their daily management," the report adds.

Among the list of recommendations established for the center is that of "appointing an ethics officer." This appears despite the fact that the hospital has never had any system in place to enable staff to ensure compliance with their ethical obligations.

"The establishment has never mastered or been able to distinguish between the concepts of private and ancillary activities," the report continues. Thus, an employee allegedly illegally carried out a private activity without, at the same time, working part-time without any activity within the center. This mandatory measure was not respected, in the face of which "the establishment must recover all sums received by the employee as part of his illegal activity."

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