Ministry of Health |21 July 2026
A partial view of the audience at the launch ceremony yesterday (Photo: Salome Abel)
New era of care begins
By Sunny Esparon
The Ministry of Health has launched ‘The New Era of Care’, a national reform programme designed to improve patient experience, support health workers, modernise services, and restore public trust.
The initiative is engaging staff from all levels of the ministry and the Public Health Authority through a three‑day conference that began yesterday morning at the International Conference Centre Seychelles (ICCS).
Senior leadership has already developed a shared vision built on seven strategic pillars:
- Workforce and Human Resource Transformation
- Patient Experience and Access to Care
- Quality of Care and Clinical Governance
- Staff Welfare, Motivation and a Culture of Care
- Service Delivery Model Modernisation
- Digital Health and Data‑Driven Decisions
- Primary Health Care Strengthening and Community‑Based Care
Participants are expected to understand why reform is urgent, learn the vision and pillars from senior leaders, and define how their teams contribute to each area.
Presentations
The first half of the programme featured clinical presentations:
- The Kinetic Engine of Care by secretary of state Dr Jude Padayachy
- Key reform actions by principal secretary for Health Policy, Strategy and Accountability Dr Sanjeev Pugazhendhi
- Three reform priorities by director of Research for the Public Health Authority Emelyn Shroff
- Health Care Service by director general Hospital Services Dr Jadhav Chandrashekhar
The second half highlighted non‑clinical perspectives:
- Health Care Services overview by director general Corporate Services Marc Chang‑Lam
- Reform Action Finance by Michael Brutus
- Facilities Management by director general Facilities Arshad Fawad
- Biomedical Engineering Reform Actions by Israr Ali
Leadership perspective
Speaking to Seychelles NATION, PS Pugazhendhi explained that the reform stems from the government’s manifesto before the general elections.
“We have started higher‑level discussions in terms of leadership,” he said. “This has brought us to key actions that we need to work on. We have reached the stage where we would like to present this to all staff across all sectors, get their point of view and concerns, engage them, and see how it applies to their everyday work life and how they can operationalise the reform. We want to make it so that it is not just good for service but for the staff as well.”
He noted that more than 400 participants have confirmed attendance across the three days. Sessions will be repeated for different groups of staff, and feedback will be compiled into a report to guide modifications and address primary concerns.
Minister’s vision
Minister for Health Dr Marvin Fanny told Seychelles NATION that the initiative reflects the new administration’s plan.
“It is of vital importance that all staff understand exactly what the new plan and vision is and where the Health department wants to reach,” he said. “What tends to happen is that the upper echelons forget those who work below, the staff who make the ministry function daily. They need to understand what we are expecting from them. When we get the buy‑ins from them, then the staff can work and deliver to make sure that we get the necessary results.”
At the end of the seminar, Minister Fanny hopes participants will grasp the vision and contribute practical solutions.
“I expect them to make either I or the ministry see certain things that we are not, things that are more technical or difficult, and they will bring it forward. When we finish the conference over the three days, we will eventually go to Praslin and La Digue, and we will compile it all together and come up with recommendations which will aid us in reforms in policies or structure wise.”