French Hospital Accomplishes Ambitious Financial Recovery Plan

Through a series of quick wins including the review of our outsourcing contracts and finance systems,Capgemini created a culture shift which allowed our people to adjust to new ways of working.They gave our partner organizations confidence, and most importantly,they have helped us to get the modernization of the hospital firmly underway,using a roadmap which remains our guide to this day. Philip Vrouvakis, General Manager,Hôpital de Bordeaux Bagatelle

The Situation

Founded in the 19th Century, Hôpital de Bordeaux Bagatelle has established itself as an important not-for-profit hospital. It offers a broad spectrum of medical specialties from maternity, gastroenterology, and digestive surgery to cardiology, orthopedics, and neurosurgery.

In 2003 the hospital began a restructuring program which proved to be over-ambitious; it was too large and too expensive. The hospital was facing serious financial difficulties and was operating with an unsustainable budget deficit by 2007. An initial recovery plan was launched towards the end of 2007, with the support of Agence Régionale d’Hospitalisation d’Aquitaine (the Regional Hospitalization Agency,ARH). Hôpital de Bordeaux Bagatelle also sought the financial backing of John Bost, a charitable foundation. The hospital’s new General Manager asked Capgemini to help conduct a two-month audit of the organization’s finances, in order to ensure that the recovery plan was sufficient to effect a full stabilization.

The Solution

Capgemini worked with the hospital to establish a multi-disciplinary diagnostic approach to uncovering the causes of the deficit before defining a recovery plan. This plan included a management restructure and a partnering strategy in the local region. Without the recovery plan and the development of a Financial Balance Recovery Contract (FBRC) with the Regional Hospitalization Agency, the hospital would not have received the urgent funding it needed to remain operational.

The Result

Executive level buy-in to the recovery plan ensured that teams across the hospital were mobilized to set the reorganization in motion. The program of activity began in early 2008 and from a position of major deficit the hospital has since returned to a stable position. Average occupancy rates for the hospital’s beds have risen from 65% to 80%, while the number of beds have also risen from under 200 to 230. The hospital is now well placed to develop into a healthcare hub for Bordeaux and the surrounding area.