French hospitals close 2,300 beds in 2024 as home care expands

Official Drees data show that French hospitals and clinics eliminated 2,300 full‑hospitalisation beds in 2024, a 0.6 % decline – markedly slower than the 1.2 % drop in 2023, 1.8 % in 2022 and 1.4 % in 2021, and also below the pre‑COVID average decline of 0.9 % (2013‑2019). By year‑end the system comprised 1,330 public hospitals, 977 private clinics and 655 nonprofit facilities, totalling 367,100 full‑care beds and 91,000 partial‑care places.

Partial‑day care continued to grow, with 2,600 new places opened (+2.9 %). Home‑hospitalisation capacity rose 5.5 %, enabling simultaneous care for 25,400 patients, and activity in that sector increased 10.4 % in 2024 after an 8.4 % rise in 2023. Emergency department visits also climbed 2.5 % to 21.3 million visits for the year. The Drees noted that this uptick occurred “despite the ongoing rollout of the access‑to‑care service (Samu‑SAS) and other measures aimed at limiting patient inflow, or because of staff shortages.” The figures were released amid a third heatwave in France within two months, adding pressure to already strained hospital staff and facilities.