Recently, according to Chao News, the People's Hospital of Chenxi County, Huaihua City, Hunan Province, was burdened with a huge amount of private loans due to being leased and operated by private enterprises, which caused widespread concern. It is understood that in 2002, after obtaining the authorization of the government and the approval of the state-owned asset management department, the Chenxi County Health Bureau leased the county people's hospital to Chenxi County Excellence Real Estate Co., Ltd. for a lease period of 40 years. After the lease, the hospital was operated by the lessee independently, and then began to borrow from the private sector due to development needs.
A number of creditors revealed to Chao News reporters that they have lent funds to Chenxi County People's Hospital for the expansion of the hospital scale and equipment renewal based on their trust in public hospitals. However, in 2021, when some creditors proposed to get back the principal, they encountered various obstacles. It was not until 2022, when the Chenxi County Government terminated the lease contract in accordance with the law and intervened, that the creditors learned that the hospital had been leased and operated by a private enterprise, and the previous president, Teng Shuliang, was actually the person in charge of the private enterprise. At this point, the hospital could no longer afford to pay the high debt and interest.
Creditor Zhang Yan said that she borrowed 120,000 yuan from Chenxi County People's Hospital through an acquaintance in 2019, and originally expected to receive stable interest income every month. However, in 2022, she abruptly stopped receiving interest and learned that the hospital had been taken over by the government, and Teng Shuliang was captured. Similarly, creditor Huang Tao also revealed that he signed a loan agreement with the hospital as early as 12 years ago, with an amount of up to 200,000 yuan. He received the interest on time until 2021, when he offered to get his principal back, when he encountered difficulties.
Chenxi County People's Hospital borrowed money from the private sector to expand the new hospital area, build new buildings, and update equipment, which is a household name in the local area. However, with the influx of funds, private borrowing became a ticking time bomb, which eventually led to the hospital's financial crisis. At present, hundreds of creditors have not yet been repaid for their loans, and they are facing huge economic losses and hardships.
This incident has aroused widespread concern and discussion from all walks of life. People have questioned the lending practices of public hospitals and called for better supervision and management of public hospitals. At the same time, the way in which private enterprises lease and operate public hospitals has also triggered people's thinking and discussion on the nature of public hospitals.
Here, we call on the relevant departments to strengthen the supervision and management of public hospitals to prevent the recurrence of similar incidents. At the same time, the general public is also reminded to be cautious in choosing the object when borrowing money to avoid falling into a similar predicament.