"Cash-strapped and running out of options, a public hospital in south-west France has turned to an unlikely source of rescue: potential patients. This week, the Centre Hospitalier de la côte Basque (CHCB) in Bayonne was the latest to appeal to the public to help fund urgent needs and purchase medicine, medical devices and vaccines through what it calls "citizen loans"."
"The CHCB hopes to raise €1.5 million, the largest sum ever targeted by a French medical facility in such an operation. Supporters see the loans as an ingenious way to reconnect hospitals with the people they serve. But critics say such loans are a symptom of a healthcare system under severe strain, with hospitals forced to pass the hat around the community."
"The hospital, which has several sites, notably in the towns of Bayonne and Saint-Jean-de-Luz, said it had received institutional funding but the payments were delayed, and it needed to fund its regular purchases. A person can invest as little as one euro and will be reimbursed "at the end of 12 months" in a single payment, with interest set at 3.1 percent, a rate that exceeds that of France's popular Livret A savings account. The operation is being carried out via the start-up Villyz, a government-approved platform."
Centre Hospitalier de la côte Basque (CHCB) in Bayonne has launched a citizen-loan campaign to raise €1.5 million to buy medicine, medical devices, vaccines and sampling equipment. The hospital says institutional funds were delayed, creating immediate cash-flow needs. Citizens can invest from €1 and will be repaid in a single payment after 12 months with 3.1% interest, higher than the Livret A rate. The scheme runs via Villyz, a government-approved platform. Supporters call the model a way to reconnect hospitals with communities; critics view it as evidence of systemic strain forcing facilities to seek local fundraising.
Read at The Local France
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]