FHF' s presentation

FHF (French Hospital Federation)

Created more than 80 years ago, the French Hospital Federation (Fédération hospitalière de France) speaks on behalf of French public hospitals and many of France’s nursing homes. As the hospitals’ key interface with government, the federation is closely involved in the process of formulating and implementing health policy.

The three missions of the FHF

The FHF was founded in 1924 as a result of the efforts of the five French hospital unions (formed on a geographic basis between 1917 and 1924) to ensure common representation in their dealings with government.

Today a key player in the hospital sector, the FHF’s mission is threefold:

• to promote the institution of the public hospital,
• to provide information to hospitals sector professionals,
• to ensure representation for hospitals.

With 1,000 public hospitals and as many nursing homes, the FHF is a federation of ten hospital unions organised on a geographic basis:

• the five founding members of the FHF, i.e. the hospital unions of the North-East, North-West, South-East, South West and Centre,
• the hospital union of the Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris (public institution providing welfare services),
• the hospital union for the Paris region,
• the three overseas hospital unions: Guiana-Martinique, Guadeloupe and Indian Ocean.

Promoting the institution of the public hospital

Championing and fostering the public hospital ethos means promoting the values that underpin that institution, namely responsiveness, universal and equal access to care, high-quality care and local access to service.
The pursuit of these values translates into regular contacts with government, Parliament and the media.

To better inform the public about public hospitals, the FHF organises two major events on an alternating annual basis: the Public Hospitals Forum (held during the Hôpital Expo-Intermédica Fair) and the Forum for Eldercare and Disabled Assistance Professions (held during the Géront Expo-Handicap Trade Show).

Informing health professionals

The issues facing hospitals and how they operate have grown in complexity since the creation of the FHF. To meet this challenge, the federation offers advice and information for hospitals and hospital services. The latter may also solicit the FHF on non-medical questions concerning organisational and operational issues such as staffing, and financial and legal aspects of hospital management.

The Federation’s website also features a directory of hospitals and medical services and a continually updated database of legal and regulatory texts. This information is also disseminated via newsletters, the journals Revue Hospitalière de France and Techniques Hospitalières and various guides published by the FHF.

The FHF also runs France’s hospital databank (BDHF), a strategic decision-support tool for hospital decision makers allowing hospitals to compare figures and performances via key indicators, statistics and ratios.

Representation of the hospital sector

The FHF sits on all representative and advisory bodies addressing hospital and health policy issues. Its activities also extend to institutions engaged in the management of human resources. These include, among others, the national pension fund for local authority employees (CNRACL), the social welfare work management committee and the national association for continuing training of hospital staff.

Recognised as the authority in its area, the FHF is consulted by government on its hospital reform plans, these having been numerous over the past two decades.

It is also prominent in the international arena, with seats on the International Hospital Federation (IFH) and the European Hospital and Healthcare Federation (HOPE) which it currently chairs.

Public hospitals in France

France has about 1,315 public hospitals, as well as 1,442 private non-profit hospitals and 1,442 for-profit establishments (clinics).

The public hospitals in the strictest sense of the term number 1,042. They include 31 regional and university hospital centres, 538 hospital centres, 90 specialist (psychiatric) hospital centres, 347 local hospitals and 36 other establishments.

With 303,000 beds (66% of the total number of beds available), these public institutions treat about 8.1 million inpatients (63% of the total number) and 92 million outpatients (67%).

They employ 805,000 people (in full-time equivalent terms): 749,000 in hospitals and 56,000 in nursing homes. The hospitals stricto senso employ 56,000 medical staff and 475,000 care providers.

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