Dr. Suzy Duflo, a French ear-nose-and-throat specialist, based in Guadeloupe, visited the island last week with her Administrative Assistant, Director General, Mr. Alain Philibert. The visit was arranged by the Minister of Health, Hon. Evans McNiel Rogers, in conjunction with the Ministry of Health and Social Services.
Dr. Duflo is President of the Medical Committee of the University Hospital in Guadeloupe, and she is Vice Dean of the Medical School at the French West Indies University. The purpose of her visit was to conduct a first-hand assessment of a medical relationship between Anguilla and Guadeloupe.
She will be working with the Ministry of Health to get the wheels turning in order that her facility in the French territory can play a collaborative role with the Health Authority of Anguilla in assisting patients with referrals for treatment there.
In providing an overview of the reasons for Dr. Duflo’s visit, Minister Rogers stated, in a meeting at his office on Friday, July 20th, that: “It was out of the inauguration of the Imaging Center in Guadeloupe that I made contact with Dr. Duflo, and I was able to have some discussions in terms of assisting Anguilla with medical services and referrals.
“The hospital there can provide services for all of our patients who require them. Seeing that we are so close to French St. Martin, which is close to the French territory of Guadeloupe, it would be ideal for our patients who require treatment to be treated closer to home. We realize the language barrier can be an issue, but with today’s technology there is really no language barrier.
“We have already established medical services relationships with Trinidad, Barbados, Cayman Islands, the United Stated and others, but these are further afield. Now we are trying to get medical services as close as possible to home for a fraction of the cost. This is an initiative which we intend to continue so that patients in Anguilla would receive quality healthcare services.
“Dr. Duflo deals with the medical side of the treatment, and she is prepared to take care of all patients at her facility. On the other hand, Mr. Philibert’s task is to take care of the administrative aspect of the treatment which includes costing, insurance and payments, etc.”
Dr. Duflo observed: “It is very important for patients to be closer to home. It would make it easier for family members to visit and accompany them. You won’t have the feeling like you are going so far away for medical care and attention. We also want to share our practice with Anguilla and exchange our doctors and nurses in caring for all patients who would require our services.”
Dr. Duflo and Mr. Philibert left the island last Sunday afternoon, to return to Guadeloupe, after some fruitful discussions with officials of the Health Authority here.
