A SEYCHELLOIS, born and bred, who was working as a consultant at Victoria hospital, has abandoned his career in Seychelles to return overseas because, he said, if he remained in Seychelles he would lose all his professional skills.
The medical specialist who was trained in one of the most advanced countries in the world said that he came to the realisation after meeting one of his contemporaries back at his old training hospital. He said that the decision to quit was not based on the shabby treatment he received from his employer, the Ministry of Health, after his wife fell ill, although it was this episode which opened his eyes.
The doctor claimed that when he realised his wife needed specialist treatment overseas, he approached his employer to assist him in obtaining sufficient foreign exchange from the commercial banks. He had the appropriate rupee equivalent, he said, to pay for the treatment and the hospital where he had trained had all the expertise needed. Commercial banks, he said, did not have any provisions for such eventuality. He was hoping that his employer, the Ministry of Health could use its influence via the Central Bank to assist him. His employer, he discovered could not care less about his special needs. However, this was not the deciding factor that made him decide to leave his job in Seychelles.
The young professional said that he came to the realisation he was losing his skills when he met one of his contemporaries at his old training hospital, and were comparing notes about their careers. He said he discovered, that his contemporary was using medical techniques which were not in use in Seychelles, not because he did not have the skills, but because the hospital management refused even to consider making available the appropriate equipment. Consequently, he said, he was left with doing the best he could. He said that the attitude of the Ministry of Health evidences a gross disrespect for professionalism as decisions are made by unskilled and politically appointed officials.
He said he was heartbroken and saddened in having to make this decision especially for his patients, but he felt that his own career had to come first. He is not, he said, abandoning his country and fellow citizens entirely. He will return regularly for holidays and has offered to make his skills available free of charge whenever he is on holiday.
The official statement from the Ministry of Health disseminated by the official broadcasting media as usual gave a different impression. It tried to play down the story applying the usual misinformation to give the impression that the young professional was “being sent for further training” rather than that he resigned. As usual SBC and the government print media did not see it fit to interview the young man and broadcast his own explanation in his own words.
Last week the President called up all the graduates who had return home in the past year for a photo opportunity and ministerial platitudes. As usual the occasion was designed for the SBC cameras and calculated to give the impression that all the graduates were there to give thanks to the party. What the graduates knew in their hearts of hearts, however, was that they were under constant stress and strains during their training in the various countries they were in, because their stipends were always late in coming due to a persistent shortage of foreign exchange back home, under the stewardship of the SPPF. That alone signified the failure of the SPPF in guiding the country to prosperity in the 31 years they've had control of the country.
This year the responsibility to deliver the platitudes rested with Bernard Sham Laye, Michel's Minister of Education. Sham Laye was himself a returning graduate during the colonial periods and benefited from a British government scholarship which took him to one of the most prestigious universities in the UK.
Unfortunately, in his current responsibility he does not exude self confidence and certainly not a role model for the new graduates to follow. There are only so many posts for sycophants.