I have an immense pleasure to be here amongst you today for the

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1 Inauguration Ceremony and unveiling of Plaque of the New Operation Theatre Complex and Restoration of Plaque of the Paediatric Ward 12 (formerly known as Guy Rozemont Ward) My dear friend, Hon. X. L. Duval, Deputy Prime Minister Hon Minister of Health of Lesotho Members of the Parliament in Mauritius Mr Chen Zhihong, Charge d Affaires of the Embassy of the People s Republic of China Ms How Fok Cheung, Senior Chief Executive of the Ministry Director General Health Services Permanent Secretaries Director General of the ECSA Health Community Director Health Services Delegates of the ECSA Health Community countries Chairman and Executive Director of the Trust Fund Senior Officials of my Ministry Family Members of late Guy Rozemont Distinguished guests Ladies and gentlemen I have an immense pleasure to be here amongst you today for the 1

2 inauguration and the unveiling of plaque of the New Operation Theatre Complex at Victoria Hospital. The presence of the Hon. Deputy Prime Minister is significant because he was one of the driving forces to realize this magnificent project. It is a known fact that the Victoria Hospital is one of the busiest Regional hospitals in Mauritius which caters for a population of 400,000 people with a bed capacity of 824. In the year 2014, the number of patients who visited the hospital was 1,780,000 with a total admission of 45,070 patients. This major capital project has been long awaited but, looking at it now, I think you ll agree that it has been worth waiting for. It must be recognised by all that such a large, complex and significant project requires exceptionally careful management and planning in order to ensure that the end result is everything we would wish it to be. 2

3 I must here recognize the very generous assistance and support of the Chinese Embassy and, in particular, the Ambassador of the People s Republic of China in making this project a reality. On this very day in South Africa the Chinese Africa Forum Summit is being held. This is yet another testimony of the partnership that China has with all countries in Africa. Mauritius wishes to pay tribute to China for all that it has been done to promote health care here and throughout Africa. This Project, the total capital cost of which is almost Rs 600 million, comprises six new state-of-the-art Operation Theatres which will replace the existing Operation Theatres which have been in use since decades. The new Operation Theatres are modern, equipped with state of the art apparatus and machines and designed to the highest standards. They provide an attractive and friendly surrounding. Building work on the site started on 28 December 2012 and the 3

4 site was handed over on 16 October This is a fabulous theatre for our health professionals to demonstrate their surgical and other skills. Ladies and Gentlemen In addition to the six Operation Theatres, this modern building also comprises, amongst others, the following extremely sophisticated units: Two Male Wards and 2 Female Wards with an increased capacity of an 120 additional beds; An Intensive Care Unit with 8 beds; Two recovery rooms with 14 beds and two pre-anaesthesia rooms with 6 beds. I have no doubt that these new facilities that are being put in place at the hospital will radically improve the quality of service 4

5 provided to patients. No one wants to get or be ill. But it happens and, when it happens, it is comforting to know that we have such excellent facilities in our country. The key objectives of setting up additional Operation Theatres and wards are to increase the number of surgical operations that are carried out here at the Victoria hospital, reduce the waiting time for all operations and provide better customer care with a rapid service. You may wish to know that, since taking office, I have got the waiting time for cararact operations, for example, to be brought down from 8 months to 2 weeks. As you are aware, at present, we only have one Cardiac Centre for surgery in Mauritius which is situated in the premises of the SSRN Hospital and the waiting list for such specialized care is very long, particularly as most of those requesting surgery are suffering from diabetes which imposes a heavy burden on our public health. I am pleased to announce that my Ministry will use the new 5

6 facilities in this new building for cardiac surgery so that we can bring down the existing waiting list at a manageable level and also with a view to upgrading the Cardiac. Centre so that it assumes world class standards. In this respect, 2 of the Operation Theatres would be dedicated for Cardiac Interventions. I believe that as we inaugurate this Operation Theatre Complex today, we are witnessing the beginning of a new era for this hospital. Victoria Hospital has old structures which we want to demolish to make room for new modern infrastructure. This will allow us to more land available for other purposes, including parkings We now have a complete new hospital building which would enables us move forward into a new era of service delivery and to find new ways of working as well as new approaches to caring for our patients. Finally, I would like to say that I am honoured to officially unveil this plaque as a tribute to the management and staff of the 6

7 Hospital for their enormous contribution to the quality of health services that are provided here at the Hospital. I believe this new Unit will be a great asset to our health services and I wish to congratulate everyone for helping to make it possible. Before proceeding with the inauguration of the New Operation Theatre Complex, I would like to seize the opportunity of this event to restore the Plaque of the Paediatric Ward 12 which was formally known as the Guy Rozemont Ward. Il y a un 2ème volet à la cérémonie d aujourdhui. Un grand tribun, syndicaliste et politicien est décédé dans une salle à l hôpital Victoria. Il y avait une plaque qui scellait ce moment d histoire. Je ne sais pas pour quelle raison cette plaque a été enlevée il y a quelques années. Quand j ai pris connaissance de cela dans la presse, j ai décidé que l histoire ne doit pas être occulté Par devoir de mémoire et pour rendre hommage à l histoire, nous 7

8 allons procéder au dévoilement d une plaque en mémoire de ce grand homme du Parti Travailliste. J ai nommé feu Guy Rozemont. Je suis reconnaissant envers les membres de sa famille qui sont présents avec nous ce matin. Nous avons invité le Parti Travailliste pour cette cérémonie. Mais je regrette leur absence. After the inauguration ceremony of this building, we shall all proceed together to the Paediatric Ward 12 for the Restoration of the Plaque. I thank you very much for your attention. 8