The new Aegle Clinic, with state-of the-art infrastructure constructed to the tune of Rs 200 million, providing quality health care facilities to the people residing in the region of Flacq and its neighbouring areas, was inaugurated yesterday.
The Minister Mentor, Minister of Defence and Minister of Rodrigues, Sir Anerood Jugnauth, the Minister of Health and Quality of Life, Dr Anwar Husnoo and other personalities were present on the occasion.
In his keynote address the Minister Mentor commended the stakeholders for the setting up of the clinic in Mauritius. The new clinic, he said will have a significant role in delivering quality health care service as well as improve health care access in the region. He recalled that the District of Flacq comprises of 32 villages with an estimated population of 138,000 hence enabling the people of the locality and nearby districts as well as tourists staying in hotels in the east region to avail of the latest high tech medical facilities from the new clinic.
Government is investing massively and is injecting more than Rs 7 billion for the construction of the new ENT Hospital, a new Cancer Hospital at Solferino in Vacoas; a new hospital at Flacq; and an Eye Hospital at Réduit, said Minister Mentor Jugnauth. The objective is to enable the population to get the best health care services and enhance quality of life in the country and also to reduce the cases of patients going abroad for medical treatment, he said.
According to Sir Anerood, the health sector contributes 4.4 % to the Gross Domestic Product of the country and provides employment to more than 8500 persons. This international recognised institution will further promote the country as a medical treatment centre of excellence in the region which is in line with the Government’s vision, he added.
For his part Minister Husnoo pointed out that this multi-speciality fully fledged clinic which will operate on a 24/7 basis will improve the quality of health care in the region as the clinic is endowed with highly trained and skilled doctors and nurses.The national health care system has become a booming industry and is expected to rise by 5.3 % by the end of 2018 thereby contributing to economic wealth. The industry is now offering its service as a medical tourism platform, and some 15 000 patients have travelled to Mauritius for medical treatment, he said.
Mauritius has a dual health care medical service and this collaboration of the public and private health care constitutes a major segment of the socio economic activities of Mauritius. In a bid to supplement the quality of health care by the public sector, the Ministry of Health will encourage the continuous development of the private sector through the implementation of major infrastructural works in the health care sector and by investing massively in state-of-the-art technology and equipment, said the Minister.
Aegle Clinic
The Aegle Clinic, the third largest clinic in the island, is a seven-storey building and can accommodate about seventy-five patients. It is equipped with latest state-of the-art technology and facilities amongst others, the CT Scan, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, and modern operating theatres as well as departments of cardiology, pediatric, maternity, Intensive Care Unit, orthopedics, radiology, dental care; spine and pain rehabilitation and a laboratory. The Clinic will also provide learning facilities to its staff so as to keep them abreast of the latest developments while ensuring excellence in quality health services.