The Ministry of Health and Wellness is now providing two new services at the Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam (SSR) National Hospital, namely a Fertility Clinic and an Epidural Service for women in labour. As such, the Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr Kailesh Kumar Singh Jagutpal, inaugurated, today during an official ceremony, the first public Fertility Clinic, in Pamplemousses.
The Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS), Mr Sharvanand Ramkaun, and other personalities were also present at the ceremony.
In his address, Minister Jagutpal highlighted that, as Mauritius has an ageing population, there is a need to provide all facilities to couples who want to conceive since the country’s fertility rate is quite low as compared to other countries. As such, he remarked, the Fertility Clinic will have an important role to play.
Dr Jagutpal indicated that the Fertility Clinic will provide a holistic approach to those couples who are facing difficulties to conceive based on the assessment, diagnosis and treatment modalities. He pointed out that existing advanced reproduction techniques such as artificial insemination and in-vitro fertilisation will thus be offered to eligible couples.
The Minister recalled that several factors such as non-communicable diseases and alcohol, among others, can have a negative impact on fertility of men and women. He also underscored that his Ministry has set up a unit to enable the registration of patients in a sub-fertility database so that each patient can benefit from a set of diagnosis and a proposed plan of action according to his/her needs.
Furthermore, Dr Jagutpal underlined that his Ministry launched an Epidural Service for women undergoing normal delivery at SSR National Hospital. At a later stage, he stressed, this service will be extended to the other Regional Hospitals as soon as the necessary facilities are available and the personnel would have been trained. These services are operational as from 08 March 2022 at SSRN Hospital, which coincides with the commemoration of International Women's Day, he added.
Before concluding, the Minister dwelt on the series of services recently launched and being offered in hospitals despite the COVID-19 pandemic. He also encouraged future mothers to avail the services available at the SSR National Hospital.
For his part, PPS Ramkaun observed that the Fertility Clinic project, which was long overdue, will greatly contribute to couples facing difficulties to conceive. He also commended all medical staff for their contribution in the trying times due to the COVID-19 pandemic and encouraged them to continue to give their best in their line of work.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Republic of Mauritius.
