Heat wave sparks action plan for French retirement homes

France plans to create an emergency action plan for its retirement homes after a heat wave that probably killed 10,000 people, most of them elderly.

Hubert Falco, secretary of state for the elderly, said in an interview published today that he wanted to be able to mobilise personnel quickly and decentralise decision-making.

“As things stand, the state can react rapidly in public hospitals, but there are so many different officials in retirement homes that we are not quickly enough informed and immediately ready to react,” he said.

Retirement home officials have said they were understaffed and accused the government of slashing their budgets.

Falco denied those charges, saying his centre-right government had signed off on more funding for retirement homes than the previous Socialist government.

Yesterday, he had acknowledged that 10,000 people probably died in the heat wave. President Jacques Chirac promised changes to the country’s health system and suggested that French society needed to care better for the elderly.

“Many fragile people died alone in their homes,” Chirac said. “These dramas again shed light on the solitude of many of our aged or handicapped citizens.”