6. Conclusion

Summary and outlook for a function at the heart of action

Hospitals, and the French healthcare system in general, face a number of challenges:

• rising costs (+ 1.1% in 2018, + 2.4% in 2019);

• Difficult access to healthcare due to a shortage of healthcare services and the growing needs of the population;

• a worsening shortage of nursing staff;

• an acceleration in stock-outs of certain drugs: ". Between 2010 and 2020, the number of breakage declarations increased by a factor of around 20, to reach 2,000 declarations a year today, with a near-doubling every year".