Hospitals: the urgent need for effective leadership

On the one hand, healthcare workers and hospital staff, often left to their own devices, are trying to keep the public service afloat despite exhaustion and a lack of resources. On the other, an administration that is regularly criticised for the way it operates and for the abuses of some individuals that are draining the budget. Many now point to a lack of governance over the past several years, with direct consequences for the organisation of services. Sick leave is on the rise: due to weariness, overwork or burnout. In several departments, staff say they are operating ‘on life support’. Each unit now seems to be grappling with its own difficulties, whilst the hospital continues to muddle through, without stable leadership.

An absent acting director

Having joined the hospital in June 2025 as finance director, Bruno Carrière was due to retire on 18 May 2026. Due to the sudden departure of the incumbent director, he was appointed by the ARS as acting director until 18 September. However, due to his trip to Paris for the Santexpo trade fair on 19 May (funded by the hospital) and his holiday leave, he will not be back in the region until 7 July. He has, however, stated that he can manage this interim role remotely, a claim that does not convince the staff on site.

Decision on hold for Sébastien Galleyn

As for Sébastien Galleyn, who was appointed director in November 2025, he was dismissed by order dated 4 March by the National Centre for the Management of Hospital Practitioners and Senior Staff in the Public Hospital Service (CNG) for having made “discriminatory remarks” on a social media platform, which the administration deemed to constitute “a serious breach of the principles of impartiality and neutrality required of a civil servant”. Following an application for interim relief, the Administrative Court suspended this sanction, considering that its legality warranted further examination as the dismissal could be “disproportionate” in view of his professional career.

The court is due to rule on the merits of the case in the coming months, but the suspension of the sanction allows him to temporarily resume his duties and receive his salary. Nevertheless, it is unlikely that he will return to the Saint-Martin hospital, as the recruitment process for a new director is still ongoing. Out of the dozen or so applicants, the CNG has shortlisted five candidates who will be interviewed by the hospital, the Collectivité and the ARS. The latter will have the final say on the final choice, with the other two bodies having only an advisory role; the Collectivité must give its opinion by 25 June.

Reinstatement of Dr Tchero

Another thorny issue is that of Dr Tchero, where, once again, the courts have backtracked. Last February, the administrative court suspended the ministerial decree of 24 November 2025 which prohibited him from practising medicine in France. The Ministry did not appeal the decision, unlike the Departmental Council of the Order of Doctors, though it did not give reasons for this decision, according to the doctor’s counsel, Maître Mathurin. The criminal investigation opened by the Basse-Terre Public Prosecutor’s Office for ‘forgery and use of forged documents’ is, however, still ongoing, and the court will yet have to rule on the merits of the case in the coming months to determine whether the striking off was lawful or not. In the meantime, the doctor is entitled to practise and may request his reinstatement at the hospital, which he did discreetly this month. The hospital has not commented on his return. His lawyer, during an interview on SOS Radio on Wednesday, said she was confident about the outcome of the upcoming legal battles, as her client had been deemed competent by his peers. Dr Tchero also spoke on the radio by telephone, confirming that he had resumed seeing patients at the hospital since 18 May.