Chennai’s MIOT International opens eye care facility in Seychelles

President Wavel Ramkalawan and First Lady Linda Ramkalawan opened the new eyecare facility on Friday and visited the treatment rooms (Seychelles News Agency) 

(Seychelles News Agency) - Chennai’s MIOT International Hospital on Friday opened a new state of the art eye care facility in Seychelles at a cost of $900,000, becoming the first Indian hospital to provide full-time services in the island state, an archipelago in the western Indian Ocean.

Prithvi Mohandas, director of MIOT International, said that the facility will “provide end-to-end services in Seychelles, especially because of the pressing need with this pandemic for people to have safe treatment.”
“With this in mind we have opened this facility which is the first of its kind where we will be providing in-house services, end to end,” he added.

The MIOT International Total Eye Care clinic, located at the Espace building on Mahe, was created in collaboration with Visus Optical Seychelles and employs 16 Seychellois and 6 Indians.

It offers services ranging from diagnosis to complete treatments such as treating dry eye symptoms and other minor procedures, removing the need for patients to travel overseas for treatments that are not available locally.

MIOT International Total Eye Care clinic at the Espace building employs 16 Seychellois and 6 Indians. (Seychelles News Agency) Photo License: CC-BY

President Wavel Ramkalawan, who opened the facility with First Lady Linda Ramkalawan in a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Friday, said that it will be beneficial to the Ministry of Health.

“We were already sending people overseas for the services they have now made available here. The centre will also open doors for medical tourism in Seychelles as patients who would normally go to Chennai for their treatment will be able to do so here instead,” he added.

Established in 1999, the Madras Institute of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, known as MIOT International, is a multi-speciality hospital and since 2010, Seychelles has been sending patients there as it provides medical care in over 63 specialities.

Seychellois citizens enjoy free universal healthcare and the government pays for overseas treatment for persons who are not able to receive treatment in local health care facilities and have exhausted all treatment options in the country.

In 2021, over 100 patients were sent to India for treatment.

“For many years we have been able to rely on their support, be it outside of Seychelles or in Chennai. When we knocked on their door for the specialist that we needed in Seychelles, they have always been forthcoming with the help and support,” said health minister Peggy Vidot.

“As part of the development of the health sector in Seychelles, we always welcome private investments which supplement our own. As a country we are very open and the President is always pushing the health agenda forward,” she added.