Health Professionals Council elects new board members |30 July 2018
Allied health professionals gathered on Friday afternoon for the 4th Health Professionals Council (HPC) annual general meeting held at the STC conference room.
During the meeting, which also came at the end of the outgoing council two-year mandate, a new council was elected by members present.
The new council members are: Corinne Lavigne, Lisa Chetty, Catriona Monthy, Lindy Poris, Nadia Valentin, Kenny King, Melina Amedée, Salim Ebrahim, Stephanie Desnousse and Alain Julie.
As per the HPC Act, the Minister for Health will now need to appoint three other members to the board to fill in all 13 seats before a chairperson and vice- chairperson are chosen by the members.
Also during the meeting outgoing chairperson Patricia Rene presented her report for the past two years in which she highlighted the work of the council.
Mrs Rene thanked members for their invaluable contributions and expressed gratitude to all those who have assisted the council, which is an independent and autonomous body, in its task as regulator of the health professionals noting that the two years have been busy for the council.
As per its Act, among its main functions the Health Professionals Council;
- registers and monitors the competence and regulates the performance of health professionals in Seychelles for the purpose of promoting and upholding the highest possible standard of their practice;
- inquires into allegations of professional misconduct and malpractice by health professionals and take appropriate actions where necessary.
As part of its mission the HPC aims to ensure all allied health professionals are competent to practice and to protect the public by promoting the highest professional standards.
As part of its strategic plan the HPC has five strategic goals one of which is to strengthen the framework and capacity of the council to ensure it delivers as per its mission.
Mrs Rene said for the past two years the council has set up different sub committees – editorial and public relations, education and training, finance, legal, monitoring and enforcement sub committees. During Friday’s meeting the chairpersons of the different subcommittees also presented a report of their activities.
Mrs Rene said among its achievements the HPC has improved collaboration with the different councils in health — the nurses council, the doctors and dentists councils and together they have held symposiums and they meet frequently to explore ways to further their collaborations.
The HPC has established contacts with other councils in the region namely the South Africa allied health council among others.
The HPC is also strengthening its collaborations with different national partner agencies.