| CURATIVE SECTION | ||
| Name | Designation | E-mail address |
| Mrs M. Ramkhelawon | Ag Permanent Secretary | mramkhelawon@govmu.org |
| Dr. Z. Nabee | Ag Deputy Permanent Secretary | znabee@govmu.org |
| Dr A. Dinassing | Ag Director General Health Services | adinnassing@govmu.org |
| Dr I.D.I Nawoor | Director Health Services | inawoor@govmu.org |
Schedule
- Medical Reports/Files
- Medical Complaints
- Medical Coverage
- National Task Force
- State Visits
- Court Cases
- Foreign Visiting Teams
- Morris Legacy Fund
- Collaboration with Merck Foundation
- Referral to private clinics
- Occupational/ Residence Permit
- Trust Fund for Specialised Medical Care
- Medical, Dental & Nursing Councils
- Medical/ Dental Registration Examinations
- Regional Health Advisory Boards
- Medical Examination/PSC/DFSC/LGSC/MFRS
- Ambulance Permit
- Refund of Medical Expenses
- Legislative Programmes
Background
The Curative Unit within the Ministry of Health and Wellness plays a crucial role in ensuring the efficient delivery and oversight of healthcare services across Mauritius. With a broad mandate that spans strategic, administrative, and legal responsibilities, the Unit is integral in managing patient care, investigating medical negligence claims, coordinating medical services during national events, and supporting various health initiatives. It also works closely with both national and international partners to enhance healthcare delivery, ensuring that the needs of the population are met in a timely, effective, and legally sound manner. Through its diverse functions, the Curative Unit contributes significantly to the overall advancement of healthcare standards and the well-being of Mauritian citizens.
- Issuance of Medical Report and Medical File
The Curative Unit is responsible for providing patients with their medical reports and medical files upon request or for legal purposes. The Unit ensures that these documents are carefully prepared and delivered to the patient, offering transparency and accountability in their healthcare journey. Additionally, the Unit collaborates with various authorities, including the Commissioner of Police and the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family Welfare to provide these records when required for investigations, legal matters, or public health inquiries. The Unit’s role is pivotal in ensuring that all information is accurate, confidential, and in line with legal standards, helping to support both the rights of patients and the needs of the relevant agencies in their investigative or legal processes.
- Strategic, Administrative, and Legal Aspects of Healthcare Delivery
The Curative Unit plays a pivotal role in shaping the strategic and administrative framework for healthcare delivery within the Ministry of Health and Wellness. This responsibility extends to providing critical legal oversight to ensure the smooth functioning of healthcare systems. The Unit manages patient complaints, investigates and addresses medical negligence claims, and handles the legal processing of cases related to medical malpractice. Additionally, the Curative Unit oversees issues of forgery or falsification of medical documents, ensuring accountability and integrity in healthcare practices.
Key Responsibilities:
- Managing patient complaints effectively
- Investigating legal claims for medical malpractice
- Legal processing of court cases related to medical malpractice
- Addressing forgery and falsification of medical records
- Coordination of Medical Coverage for National Events
One of the key operational responsibilities of the Curative Unit is the provision of medical support during national events. The Unit works in close coordination with the National Task Force to ensure that both expedited and standard medical services are available as needed. This is crucial for maintaining public health and safety during large-scale events. The Unit ensures that the medical services provided are timely, comprehensive, and capable of addressing any healthcare emergency that may arise.
Key Responsibilities:
- Coordinating with the National Task Force for medical coverage during national events
- Ensuring timely and comprehensive medical support
- Managing requests from Government Bodies for medical services
- Collaborating with the Beach Authority and Operation Support Services for coordinated healthcare responses
- Ambulance Permits and Support for Healthcare Needs
The Curative Unit is also involved in the regulation and provision of ambulance services. This includes providing recommendations for ambulances used in the issuance of Ambulance Permits by the National Land Transport Authority. These efforts are aimed at ensuring that ambulances meet regulatory standards and are available when required to serve the public and healthcare facilities.
Key Responsibilities:
- Recommending ambulances for the issuance of Ambulance Permits
- Coordination of Foreign Medical Teams and Health Programs
The Curative Unit facilitates the visits of foreign medical teams engaged in long-term health programs with the Ministry. These collaborations are vital for enhancing the quality of healthcare services in the country and ensuring that knowledge transfer and capacity building occur. The Unit ensures that the coordination of these visits is smooth and that the foreign teams integrate effectively with local healthcare professionals.
Key Responsibilities:
- Coordinating the visits of foreign medical teams
- Ensuring seamless integration with local healthcare systems
- Facilitating health programs with the Ministry of Health and Wellness
- Administrative Assistance to the Trust Fund for Specialised Medical Care, Medical, Dental and Nursing Councils
The Curative Unit is responsible for the provision of administrative assistance to the Trust Fund for Specialized Medical Care, particularly focusing on areas such as the Cardiac Centre. In addition, it also provides administrative support to key professional bodies, including the Medical, Dental, and Nursing Councils, ensuring that healthcare professionals adhere to the standards of practice. The Unit also plays a role in the coordination of the Medical and Dental Registration Examinations in collaboration with both the National Board of Examinations in India and the Mauritius Examinations Syndicate.
Key Responsibilities:
- Administrative Assistance to the Trust Fund for Specialized Medical Care, the Medical, Dental, and Nursing Councils
- Coordinating the Medical and Dental Registration Examinations
- Ongoing Healthcare Programs and Initiatives
The Curative Unit oversees significant public health initiatives aimed at improving the health of the population. Among these initiatives are the Hepatitis C Elimination Programme, which aligns with the World Health Organization’s goal to eradicate Hepatitis C by 2030, and the Colorectal Cancer Screening Programme, which targets the screening of Mauritians aged 60 and above. These programs are critical for enhancing preventative healthcare and addressing prevalent health issues in the country.
Key Programs:
- Hepatitis C Elimination Programme: Eradication of Hepatitis C by 2030
- Colorectal Cancer Screening Programme: Screening for individuals aged 60 and above
- Patient Referrals and Medical Expense Refunds
The Curative Unit also plays a vital role in managing patient referrals to private health institutions. Furthermore, it provides recommendations for the refund of medical expenses related to Diplomatic Missions. The Unit is also involved in the payment of Interest in respect of the Zero Interest Medical Loan Scheme, in collaboration with Maubank and the State Bank of Mauritius. These services are designed to improve access to healthcare and provide financial support to those in need.
Key Responsibilities:
- Facilitating patient referrals to private health institutions
- Handling medical expense refunds for Diplomatic Missions
- Administering the Zero Interest Medical Loan Scheme
- Legislative Coordination for the Ministry
The Curative Unit plays a crucial role in the legislative process by coordinating amendments to healthcare laws through the Finance (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill. This includes drafting, reviewing, and ensuring that proposed changes are aligned with the Ministry’s healthcare objectives and legal requirements.
Key Responsibilities:
- Coordinating legislative amendments through the Finance (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill
- Ensuring alignment with the Ministry’s healthcare objectives
The Curative Unit is integral to the Ministry of Health and Wellness, overseeing a wide range of responsibilities that ensure the delivery of high-quality healthcare services across Mauritius. From strategic oversight and legal matters to national healthcare initiatives and international collaborations, the Unit’s work is fundamental to the continued success and improvement of the country’s healthcare system.
The Demographic/Evaluation Unit is responsible for the monitoring and evaluation of the national family planning programme. This Unit collects family planning statistics from all government health service points and two Non-Governmental Organisations, namely, Action Familiale and Mauritius Family Planning & Welfare Association.
The Environmental Health Engineering Unit (EHEU) is responsible for the monitoring and enforcement of Drinking Water Quality, Noise and Odour under the Environment Act 2024. Access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) as well as noise control plays a critical part in the prevention and management of public health. The responsibility to manage these public health risks fall under the purview of the EHEU.
The EHEU has an organisational structure similar to other engineering section of other public bodies. Likewise, the professional cadre is assisted by a technical cadre.
- The professional grade being registered professional Civil Engineers with the Council of Registered Professional Engineers of Mauritius, and
- the technical grade being officers selected from Public Health and Food Safety Health Inspector having successfully completed a Diploma in Public Health Engineering.
The organigram of the Environmental Health Engineering Unit (EHEU) comprises of:
- Director EHEU
- Deputy Director EHEU,
- Lead Sanitary Engineer,
- Two (2) Sanitary Engineers / Senior Sanitary Engineer,
- Two (2) Principal Health Engineering Officers,
- Five (5) Senior Health Engineering Officers, and
- Twelve (12) Health Engineering Officers.
Main functions of the EHEU:
- Monitor Drinking-Water Quality to ensure that drinking-water being distributed to the public is safe for drinking and consumption purposes in line with Drinking-Water Standards of the Environment Act 2024 and WHO Guidelines
- Monitor Environmental Noise to ensure that environmental noise emanation is within the permissible limits as prescribed under the Environment Act 2024
- Carry out investigation and monitoring in relation to environmental problems in relation to odor and wastewater.
- Carry out Environmental Surveillance for Legionella in Hotels and for Poliomyelitis at major wastewater treatment plants.
Moreover, the Professional Cadre administers procurement contract for provision of logistics and also assists the Project Implementation Unit of the Ministry as regards to conceptions and implementation of civil (construction) related projects of the Ministry. In this respect, the Unit also participates in evaluation, preparation of Terms of Reference for major projects and attending site visits/meetings with consultants and contractors.
The Government Analyst Division is the chemical laboratory operating under the aegis of the Public Health and Training Section of the Ministry.
The HIV and AIDS Unit of this Ministry is responsible for the proper AIDS response in terms of policy coordination, policy implementation, HIV prevention, care and treatment and harm reduction.
The Ministry of Health and Wellness has put in place a series of health intervention programmes in the struggle against these diseases and their causative factors. Intervention programmes focusing on primary prevention of diseases and their risk factors in the community and at worksites have been reengineered. Existing programmes, which are comprehensive and multi-sectoral, are being sustained to favour an enabling environment for the adoption of a healthy lifestyle.
Occupational Health is a discipline that deals with the full relationship between work and the health of workers. According to the Occupational Safety and Health Act 2005, the Occupational Health Unit (OHU), which operates under the aegis of the MOHW, caters for workers employed in the public sector.
The National Pharmacovigilance Committee in Mauritius was established in December 2011 and Mauritius became a full member of the the WHO Programme for International Drug Monitoring in 2014. It functions to manage and address any potential safety and quality issues that could arise from the use of health products marketed in Mauritius.
Proper planning and finance management enables value for money in Government expenditures. The Planning and Finance unit is responsible for the sound monitoring of measures as announced in the Government Programme 2020-2024 and budget measures which fall under the purview of the Ministry of Health and Wellness.
The infrastructural outlook of health institutions is but a mirror of the quality of services offered, especially in terms of accessibility. The Ministry of Health and Wellness is, therefore, setting up state-of-the-art infrastructures around the island to cater for the need of the whole population. The Project Implementation Unit (PIU) is responsible for the proper implementation of minor infrastructural works and capital projects.