Tuesday's meeting between private health care practitioners and Ministry of Health officials

A more unified approach to health care in Seychelles could begin to take shape after the first in a series of meetings between private health care practitioners and Ministry of Health officials was held Tuesday October 7.

Many leading private doctors and dentists in Seychelles convened at the Victoria Hospital with Principal Secretary Marja MacGaw, Dr Conrad Shamlaye, the special advisor to the ministry and other officials to discuss some of their concerns and flag potential areas for closer partnership.

Dubbed “The Way Forward” by the ministry, the meeting was set up to promote a more cohesive health care system due to the increasing demand by the public for a wider range of health services.

“The primary role of the Ministry of Health is to provide leadership and stewardship in health and health development,” Dr Shamlaye said.

Although the private and public health sectors should be distinct and separate, Dr Shamlaye said, that did not mean they could not work more closely together to provide adequate health services for all citizens.

Dr Shobha Hajarnis, the technical advisor to PS MacGaw, outlined several areas of collaboration in health care that could be improved between the private and public sectors.

Although the ministry said it received the full cooperation of private doctors during the Sars (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) scare, she said improving joint disease surveillance was one such area.

Other forms of cooperation, Dr Shobha said, included a more free exchange of statistics and information between the ministry and private practices, training sessions for nurses and the rational use of drugs to prevent antibiotic resistance.

The meeting also provided for some candid discussions between private practitioners and health officials, with some of the private sector’s most salient concerns coming to light.

Dr Haresh Jivan, who runs his own clinic in Mont Fleuri, noted that many times referrals from the health ministry were not adequate, and patients were not given full explanations for their ailments or treatments by public doctors.

Many of his new patients, Dr Jivan said, would often be unaware of even their surgical history.

Dr Jivan also said that there was a need for more health education programmes, particularly when it came to diabetes. 

Health officials said the ministry had initiated a pilot study at the Anse Aux Pins clinic with regard to diabetes, but Dr Shamlaye conceded that currently public awareness about the illness was “not as it should be.”

However, many private doctors said they would be willing to participate more actively with the ministry’s existing health programmes, and also promote new ones.

Although no timetable had been set for future talks going into Tuesday’s meeting, it was agreed by both parties that a similar meeting would be held every month to resume discussions.

Health Commissioner Dr Rubell Brewer said he was pleased that the private sector was interested in keeping an open dialogue with the ministry, and private practitioners also thought that the meeting was a step in the right direction.

 “I think it is good that we now have a forum for discussion,” Dr Jivan said after the meeting.

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