Staff at the Clinique du Quercy in Cahors, France, say they are worried about the facility's future after its main funder announced plans to withdraw financial support by the end of the year. The concern comes months after the clinic's sister site, Beauséjour in Mercuès, closed its doors in June.
An agreement with the Cahors hospital center has given staff some breathing room, but employees say it does not go far enough. One worker, who asked to remain anonymous, said the deal has no fixed duration, so no one knows whether it is temporary or permanent. The employee called the idea sound in principle but said it does not solve the underlying problem.
Funding shortfall
The clinic has run a deficit for three years, according to the employee, who said the mutual insurer that funds the facility told staff late last year it would end its support. The employee described the atmosphere among staff as difficult, noting some workers have been there for about a decade, and said at least a quarter of employees have left out of fear for the clinic's future.
Patrick Julou, president of the Clinique du Quercy, disputed that account. He acknowledged there had been resignations but said the number was lower than described, adding that some departures were retirements and others were sick leaves.
Management departures
According to the employee, several managers and human resources staff resigned over the summer, leaving other workers without clear direction. The employee said the clinic's financial director had been handling staff matters before some short-term contract hires joined management.
Julou offered a different picture, saying the financial director had not been acting alone and that entire teams were quickly replaced. He acknowledged the clinic has struggled to recruit nurses, but said it is not alone in that difficulty. He added that, alongside reinforcement from the hospital, the clinic has a professional on a renewable contract at least through the end of the year.
Fears for patients
The employee said a closure would be a serious blow to the whole southern part of the Lot department. Without the clinic, there would be no rehabilitation care option left in the Cahors area, the employee said, adding that the Montfaucon facility could not absorb every patient.
The Lot is an aging department, the employee said, and questioned where people would go after hip or back surgery, or where isolated patients undergoing chemotherapy would turn. The employee said healthcare workers would likely find new jobs easily, but questioned what would happen to patients.
Search for a buyer
Julou said he was surprised by the level of concern, though he said he understood it. He said the commercial court has been notified of the clinic's situation and that a conciliator has been appointed to help secure a takeover by the end of the year.
Two organizations are reportedly interested in taking over the clinic once the mutual insurer withdraws, Julou said. Prospective buyers have until September 15 to come forward. Julou said the timeline was set by the Agence Régionale de Santé (ARS), the regional public body that oversees healthcare provision in France, which he said is supporting the process.
The ARS for the Occitanie region said the chosen project would be judged on several criteria: preserving and developing the range of care on offer, the quality of planned cooperation across the local health network, protecting jobs, and the economic and financial viability of the plan. The agency currently supports the clinic with funding of 258,559 euros.
Julou said staff receive weekly updates on progress and that there is close to a guarantee a buyer will be found, adding that management has taken its responsibilities seriously. He urged optimism, saying stakeholders want to keep the clinic running because its services are essential to the local area and the Lot cannot rely on a single site. He said the real issue should not be lost: that public healthcare more broadly suffers from a lack of funding.
Employees have also launched a petition calling for the clinic to be saved.
