New operating theatre, 43 million euros in work... Here's where the major modernisation of the Grasse hospital stands

Since its construction in 1978, the Grasse hospital had never undergone work of this magnitude , assures the mayor, Jérôme Viaud. The hospital was in a situation of suffering, it was enough to go to the emergency room to realize the deplorable state of the buildings, the accesses... The operating theaters also had asbestos and needed ergonomics.

This is why the establishment initiated, in 2019, a major modernization project, the first phase of which has already been delivered, with the relocation of medical imaging and, above all, the expansion of the emergency department which recorded, in 2024, 44,730 visits.

A new "extremely innovative" operating room

This Friday, the management took stock of the progress, in the presence of elected officials and the ARS, to launch the final phase of the work. It mainly concerns surgery, with the opening of a new operating theater on November 17. "Brand new, it is extremely innovative," said the hospital director, Erika Cassan. The latter was designed so that natural light penetrates the room and it is directly connected to the obstetrical and sterilization theater.

The remaining work, until June 2026, will be the restructuring of endoscopy, the outpatient surgery unit and sterilization.

The cost of the work increased from 28 to 43 million euros

The cost of this work, initially planned at €28 million, has now risen to €43.7 million. "This is because the project has been reworked and we have also been affected by inflation," explains the director of the hospital center. "The Regional Health Agency had already provided €7 million in support for this project, but we will provide an additional €3 million to support the final phase, bringing our total support to €10 million," explains Olivier Brahic, deputy director of the ARS Paca.

Present on site, the sub-prefect Jean-Claude Geney recalled the importance of this major project: "If nothing had been done, the cost would have been the decline of the hospital, the gradual disappearance of services, the demographic decline of the Grasse region and the loss of attractiveness of the region..."

In turn, the deputy for the 9th constituency, Michèle Tabarot, recounted "how difficult it is to seek funding, each time: we went to Paris with the mayor to defend the project and ask the Minister of Health, Yannick Neuder, to support us." This is what he did, by coming there on April 11. " I am proud of this project, which will improve the working conditions of caregivers and which gives a new dimension to the Grasse hospital," concluded Jérôme Viaud.