Who determines if I need to live in a care home in France?

Reader question: As I get older I am starting to struggle with living alone and think I may eventually need a care home place. Who decides if this is the case? Would my GP need to sign something off? 

Whether or not someone is suited to living in an EHPAD (care home) is a decision taken by a home after you have applied to it, and it is closely related to the severity of a person’s dependency needs (ie. difficulty in coping alone). 

In some cases if you cannot be admitted immediately, you may be placed on a waiting list.

One indicator of needing an EHPAD place may be whether a person has been assessed as having a low ‘GIR’ score, a rating used by departmental councils when assessing a person’s eligibility for the APA dependency benefit. 

The latter can help pay for assistance needed with daily tasks, whether provided at a person’s own home or in a care home.

Generally, people with GIR scores of 1 (the highest) or 2 are likely to benefit from living in an EHPAD, as well as some people in category 3 or 4 (though help to stay in their own home is more likely, especially for category 4). 

Those in categories 5 and 6 cannot qualify for APA and would also be too independent to live in an EHPAD. 

It is generally the médico-sociale team of departmental council who carries out assessments for this. 

Otherwise, the actual decision on whether you may enter an EHPAD or not is taken by the home, based on the severity of your needs and available places. 

It will be based on your application form that includes two parts, one to be filled in by yourself or your family or carers and another, called le volet médical, which should be completed by your GP or another doctor, and which includes detailed information about your state of health and dependency needs. 

This is submitted confidentially to the doctor in charge at the home.