The General Controller of places of deprivation of liberty (CGLPL) published, Tuesday March 24 in the Official Journal, emergency recommendations relating to the psychiatry center of the Sud Île-de-France hospital group in Melun (Seine-et-Marne). After a first visit to the establishment in May 2022, “serious rights violations persist”he castigates.
A number of patient deaths “abnormally high”an appeal “abusive” to restraint measures, minors hospitalized in free care “subject to isolation and restraint measures”… From August 4 to 7, 2025, four controllers visited the psychiatry center of the Sud Île-de-France hospital group (GHSIF) in Melun (Seine-et-Marne), as part of the follow-up to the recommendations made following the previous visit to the establishment, in May 2022, which gave rise to worrying findings. Despite the efforts made by the establishment “serious rights violations persist”they denounce.
In its report, the CGLPL notes in particular that, in this 88-bed center, “the number of patient deaths” East “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 said. “ Several of these deaths occurred in a context of isolation or restraint, marked by major failures of surveillance, an absence or insufficient traceability of restraint measures and repeated failures to comply with the obligations provided for by the public health code. These findings reveal poor somatic care for a long time, certain corrections of which were only initiated after the occurrence of several deaths.he specifies. He cites in particular the case of a patient whose sleep apnea was only the subject of a « transmission orale » between caregivers, without “written traceability in the medical file”or another case “absence of alert regarding arterial hypotension and abnormal pulse”. The report also highlights“the methods of paramedical surveillance of patients isolated or placed under insufficient restraint and their traceability sometimes non-existent”.
The case of minor patients
The report also deplores that,“lack of appropriate public care provision in the territory”minor patients are “hospitalized full-time in adult units of the psychiatry center”contrary to the regulations. “Minors hospitalized in independent care are subject to isolation and restraint measures, in application of illegal decisions which, apart from not always being formalized in writing, are not recorded in the documents serving as isolation and restraint registers”he denounces, believing that “the establishment has an excessive number of isolation rooms and makes improper use of them”. Finally, the controller points out that “the statistics communicated by the management of the establishment relating to its activity in care without consent are not reliable”. “A reliable procedure for collecting statistical data on psychiatric activity must be put in place without delay”he believes.
Faced with these observations, the CGLPL recalls “the urgency of guaranteeing the physical integrity of patients, of putting an end to illegal practices of isolation and restraint, of drastically reducing the number of spaces dedicated to these measures, of ensuring appropriate care for minors and of providing the establishment with reliable tools for monitoring its activity, essential conditions for respecting the fundamental rights of hospitalized people.”
Although greater freedom of movement and the creation of a child psychiatry liaison team have been noted, the use of isolation of minors continues, in disregard of legal requirements. These practices constitute particularly serious attacks on the fundamental rights of children, whose vulnerability requires reinforced protection.
The hospital defends itself
The Sud Ile-de-France Hospital Group responded, Tuesday, point by point, to these accusations. In a press release, he highlights “the many advances” carried out since the first visit of the CGLPL in May 2022. The hospital ensures that it has reacted to “limit the use of isolation and restraint measures, which are decreasing”. He claims in particular that a medical consultation was “systematized upon entry into isolation” and that“a single register of isolation and restraint measures is now in place”. On the issue of children,“specific training was provided to the teams and an adolescent admission protocol was finalized in 2026 in connection with the establishment of a mobile child psychiatry team”, advances the establishment.“These actions guarantee more appropriate, secure and respectful care for the rights of minors”. The hospital also highlights the “low number of child psychiatrists” of Seine-et-Marne and“the absence of suitable hospitalization units for children and adolescents, particularly those with suicidal thoughts”. “Mobilization on the subject must be able to be considered in a more global way”he concludes.
Following the publication of these recommendations, the Ministry of Health has four weeks to make its observations.
To find out more:
The CGLPL publishes in the Official Journal of March 24, 2026, on the basis of the emergency, recommendations relating to the psychiatry center of the Sud Île-de-France hospital group in Melun (Seine-et-Marne).
