Hospitals still highly regarded

MOST French people still have confidence in the system, despite recent controversies over hospitals, a survey shows.

The CSA survey, published today, comes as President Sarkozy is expected to reveal more detail of government plans to reform hospitals.

It shows that 77% are “generally confident” about the functioning of state hospitals, while 72% say the same about their A&E departments.

However in detailed breakdowns only 18% said they were “totally confident” about the functioning of the hospitals, while 59% were “mostly confident.”

A total of 15% were “not very confident” in the system and 2% “not at all confident,” while 2% had no opinion.

The survey was carried out by phone on January 7 and 8, with a broad sample of nearly 1,000 adults.

It comes after a series of scandals, including the deaths of a baby and a three-year-old after hospital errors and the death of a heart attack victim after no open intensive care bed could be found.