St.Mary's Hospital on Seychelles' La Digue Island inaugurated 

St. Mary's Hospital is located close to L'Union Estate. (State House)

The inhabitants of La Digue, Seychelles' third most populated island, will soon receive specialised healthcare services with the inauguration of a new state-of-the-art, modern hospital.

St. Mary's Hospital, located close to L'Union Estate, will provide diagnostic services, such as laboratory, x-ray, and ultrasound services, rehabilitative services, dialysis, and small surgical procedures.

The inauguration ceremony of the hospital took place on August 15, coinciding with the feast of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary. The plaque of the hospital was unveiled by President Wavel Ramkalawan, the Minister for Health, Peggy Vidot, and the secretary general of the Emirates Red Crescent Authority, Hamoud Abdullah Al Junaibi.

In her address, Vidot said that the hospital is the fruit of the government's desire to invest in the health of the population.

The plaque was unveiled by (from right) the President, Minister Vidot and the secretary general of the Emirates Red Crescent Authority, Hamoud Abdullah Al Junaibi. (State House) Photo License: CC-BY

"We are determined to double our efforts to work closer with our community, schools, the non-governmental sector, the private sector, and volunteer to put in place preventative and protective health programmes. together with the support of the community, we can heighten the level of service and efficiency to our new hospitals," she said.

"I call on everyone in our society to become more conscious of the fact that we need to invest in our health and that of our children. We need to be conscious that what we consume, how we spend and each meal we prepare has an impact on the health of the family. Investing in the health of the family means adopting behaviours that improve our well-being. Investing in the health of our children means educating them on the good values that will provide them with a good start in life," she added.

The construction of the new La Digue hospital, built by local contractor GICC, was funded through a donation of $4 million from the UAE government with an additional SCR2 million ($139,000) from the La Digue Hospital Fund.

Ramkalawan acknowledged the role the Red Crescent played in ensuring that the hospital becomes a reality.

"As we speak, members of the Red Crescent are still on the island, helping to set up all the equipment," he shared.

A memorandum of understanding was also signed between the Seychelles Defence Forces and the Health Care Agency. (State House) Photo License: CC-BY

During the inauguration ceremony, there was also the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the Seychelles Defence Forces (SDF) and the Health Care Agency (HSA). Under the agreement, SDF will provide the agency with an ambulance boat that will assist when there will be a need to evacuate patients from La Digue. 

The agreement was signed by the Chief of Defence Forces, Brigadier Micheal Rosette, and the chief executive of the HSA, Dr Danny Louange. 

Work to construct the new modern hospital on the island started in March last year, seven months after the foundation stone was laid on August 15, 2021.

The former Logan Hospital – named after William Marston Logan - the British governor of Seychelles from 1942 to 1947, was the only medical facility offering primary health care to around 5,000 inhabitants of La Digue. For specialised treatments, residents had to travel to Praslin, the second most populated island, or the main island of Mahe.