UK businessman gives vital equipment to hospital |21 May 2008

This will be possible after a US $25,000 donation that British businessman Justin Etzin made to the hospital last week. Chief executive of the health authority Maryse Berlouis received the cheque on behalf of the Ministry of Health and Social Development.

The money, amounting to some R200,000, will be used to import laparoscopic equipment from Germany. This enables doctors to make incisions and introduce tiny video cameras and implements through plastic tubes to carry out what is also called minimally invasive surgery.

The equipment is used to remove stones from the bladder, among other things, and is expected to be in operation by July.

Mr Etzin has a close relationship with Seychelles; he spent most of his childhood here as his father owned the Vista Do Mar Hotel at Glacis.

He said that after his father had to leave due to ill health, it made him realise that the health of a nation is incredibly important.

“Also, as Seychelles is a first class destination, then it is more important to have first class medical facilities for citizens as well as for the visitors,” he explained.

Mr Etzin said he hopes the donation will not be a one-off as he plans to settle in Seychelles and aims to help as much as he can.

After recently proposing to his fiancée Melissa here, he hopes to come back to get married some time next year. The businessman, who owns a conferencing communication support firm in the UK, says he plans to invest in a tourism establishment at Sans Souci.