International Conference on Primary Health Care

The International Conference on Primary Health Care was held on 07-08 November 2007 at the University of Mauritius. This conference was the result of a fruitful collaboration between the University of Mauritius and Imperial College London with the vital input of the Ministry of Health and Quality of Life. This joint venture had been initiated by Mr Reetoo Banarsee, Director of Applied Research Unit, West London Primary Care Research Alliance and Prof I Fagoonee, Vice-Chancellor, University of Mauritius. A large delegation from Imperial College London was led by Prof Azeem Majeed, Professor of Primary Care, Department of Primary Care and Social Medicine at Imperial College.

The two-day conference was launched by Hon. SV Faugoo, Minister of Health and Quality of Life, and comprised seven keynote speeches and sixteen seminars and was well attended by over 100 participants from the Ministry of Health and Quality of Life, the Mauritius Institute of Health, the Medical Council of Mauritius, the private sector, the Board of Investment and the University of Mauritius.

In his keynote speech, Mr Jan Bergman, Chief Executive Officer, West Dorset Foundation Trust, talked about the issues in health service management and about efficiency in health service delivery; Dr Steve Hajioff, an expert in health tourism, described this sector as the next growth market worth billions and the importance of robust governance procedures to support this sector; Dr Gopee, Chief Medical Officer, gave an overview of Primary Health Care in Mauritius and the progress made in Mauritius in this sector; Prof Azeem Majeed discussed research priorities in Primary Care; Dr Paul Aylin, Reader in Epidemiology, broached the subject of performance monitoring and reflected on whether information changed clinical practice; Mrs Patricia Atkinson, Director of Clinical Effectiveness and Leadership, Brent PCT, gave a fascinating insight on clinical governance in the National Health Service (NHS), about new approaches to assessments of clinical governance and the importance of continuing improvements towards changing the patient's experience for the better and finally Dr Catherine Brogan, Director of Public Health, Public Health Action Support Team (PHAST), Imperial College, talked about Public Health and Priorities for Primary Care. During the Conference, the Board of Investment gave an insight on cluster development in the biochemical and health care industry in Mauritius. Important points from the Conference will be posted on the Imperial College Website in the near future. At the end of the conference, delegates expressed the wish for a close and continuing collaboration between the institutions.

The organising committee comprising of Prof I Fagoonee, Dr N Gopee, Dr JC Mohith, Assoc Prof H Li Kam Wah, Dr MF Lan Cheong Wah, Dr S D Goorah, Dr P Ramasami, Mrs S Lee Kwai Yan and Mrs A Nivault is grateful to all the support staff and the Services Section, in particular Mr Lilldarry and Mr Surnam. The Organising Committee also acknowledges all the sponsors who supported this Conference namely SOCIMED Limited, the Mauritius Commercial Bank, the Board of Investment, the Mauritius Research Council, the State Bank of Mauritius, Pharmacie Nouvelle, Ducray Lenoir, Shell, Ramdenee Group, Compagnie Mauricienne de Textile Ltée and Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority.

Dr Smita Goorah
Chair, Organising Committee