The watchdog for prisons and psychiatric hospitals denounced on Tuesday "serious violations of the rights" of patients in the psychiatric unit of the hospital in Melun (Seine-et-Marne), where an abnormal number of deaths have occurred and minors are still mixed with adults.
"The psychiatric sector is desperately short of psychiatrists and caregivers" in France, but the situation at the Melun hospital unit is "particularly serious," denounced the General Controller of Places of Deprivation of Liberty, Dominique Simonnot, interviewed on franceinfo.
In a report published Tuesday in the Official Journal, the administrative authority it represents (the General Controller of Places of Deprivation of Liberty, CGLPL) notes in particular that, in this 88-bed unit, "the number of patient deaths" is "abnormally high": seven between January 1, 2024 and August 1, 2025, five of whom were hospitalized without consent.
None of these deaths were suicides, he clarifies.
The South Ile-de-France Hospital Group responded on Tuesday by highlighting, in a press release, "the numerous advances" made since a first visit by the CGLPL in May 2022.
But, speaking on the radio, Dominique Simonnot added: "We haven't seen the slightest sign of progress, except from the healthcare team who have made efforts in some areas, but not in the main ones." She even recommended that "if the Regional Health Agency (ARS), the health authorities, and the Minister of Health don't take action, patients would be well advised to take legal action."
The report points to insufficient monitoring of patients for all non-psychiatric conditions from which they may suffer.
The independent authority also believes that "the facility has an excessive number of isolation rooms and is misusing them."
The hospital maintains, however, that it has taken action to "limit the use of isolation and restraint measures, which are decreasing." It specifically points out that a medical consultation has been "systematized upon entry into isolation."
– A center for minors is needed –
Moreover, a situation has been denounced there for years: minor patients are "hospitalized full-time in adult units of the psychiatric department", contrary to regulations, deplores the CGLPL.
"Minors hospitalized under voluntary care are subjected to isolation and restraint measures, in application of illegal decisions," his report also condemns.
The hospital, for its part, asserts that "minors are no longer placed in isolation rooms" but "are now accommodated exclusively in hotel rooms." It also notes that "a protocol for the admission of adolescents was finalized in 2026."
Seemingly turning to the government, the institution mainly points out that Seine-et-Marne, the largest department in Ile-de-France, suffers from the "low number of child psychiatrists" and the "lack of suitable hospitalization units for children and adolescents, especially those with suicidal thoughts."
For staff representatives contacted on site by AFP, "it is essential not to place the responsibility for this situation solely on the doctors and caregivers, who are exhausted and facing a chronic staff shortage": "They themselves can't take it anymore," argues Valérie Christian, delegate of Sud Santé.
Three years ago, in January 2023, they were already demonstrating, launching a protest with the slogan "Does it take a death to awaken consciences?". The hospital director at the time himself lamented the lack of dedicated facilities for the care of minors.
"They have set up a portable 'sick call' (emergency pager, editor's note) for each minor," notes staff representative Stéphane Saillet (South), "but now a dedicated budget is needed for the creation of a specialized center for minors."
Regarding the abnormally high number of deaths, Mr. Saillet asserts that "doctors are now avoiding administering the maximum dose of medication, for fear of causing death." "This," this union representative continues, "means that patients are more prone to mental breakdown, and consequently, we are seeing problems with staff aggression."
The Ministry of Health now has four weeks to make its observations on the report.
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