Interview: Justin Etzin – Special assistance in the Seychelles

Seychelles Medical is the only on-the-ground medical assistance company in the Seychelles. What inspired you to start the company in 2021?

After the worldwide pandemic, ensuring the health and safety of visitors to the Seychelles islands became paramount. Hundreds of thousands of travellers from all over the world visit the Seychelles each year, and international insurance companies sought a dependable and efficient on-the-ground partner capable of handling incidents of any magnitude, providing reassurance to both visitors and insurers alike. Even in paradise things can go wrong, and we are here for you when they do.

What does a typical work day look like at Seychelles Medical?

Our team in the Seychelles operates on a 24/7 basis, and in the medical industry there is no typical day nor a typical 24 hours. We have our dedicated medical assistance team who provide continuous support to our partners and patients. We also have our Doctor24/7 service, the first in the Seychelles to provide a mobile only doctor service to locals and tourists 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. We are the preferred medical team for all hotels in the Seychelles and we handle a wide range of visitors’ needs on a daily basis. Whether our doctors are treating a client that has been stung by a jelly fish or our partner team are coordinating an air ambulance for a client that has fallen whilst hiking, we are here for you. What is important to us is that every partner and patient can rely on us to receive the best possible care, efficiently, and is continuously updated throughout the case.

Tell us about the challenges of the healthcare system in the Seychelles.

The Seychelles is an island paradise with an advanced healthcare system for its small population size. Having doctors that know how to navigate the healthcare system is essential to the wellbeing of our patients and a team that understand the geography of the islands means that we can get your clients that right treatment in the most efficient way possible. Our expert knowledge of the Seychelles healthcare system ensures that our clients such as insurance companies can take part in making the best-informed decisions on the patient’s course of treatment.

You work with global travel insurers, health insurers, and assistance companies. Can you tell us why those partnerships are so important and what you offer as a business?

Medical Assistance companies like Seychelles Medical play a crucial role in facilitating access to medical care, providing guidance and ensuring the well-being of individuals in need of medical assistance. It is often in challenging and emergency situations that our partners and clients need us most. Our team of experts are able to coordinate all cases quickly and efficiently, ensuring each patient receives the care and treatment required. We organise everything from an initial doctor consultation, hospital admission, while acting as local guarantor for payments and repatriation if required. We provide continuous updates to our clients and partners. By having our own team of in-house doctors and nurses we are able to immediately provide patient consultations so that the necessary course of action can be decided quickly. As a business owner I am constantly seeking to grow and evolve the company. During Covid -19 we were the largest private testing company operating across all of the islands. We have our in-house mobile doctor/telemedicine service Doctor 247 and Seychelles Medical Assistance which allows our partners/clients from all over the world to benefit from our expert local knowledge and network of providers.

Seychelles Medical has a team of in-house nurses and doctors. We know lots of businesses are finding it challenging to retain and motivate staff in the current climate. How are you responding to these challenges?

Both myself and my senior leadership team have worked extremely hard to build a diverse team of Seychellois and expats who have many years of experience in the medical industry and on-the-ground knowledge which is paramount to our success. As a business owner I like to be very hands-on, I speak to my teams on a daily basis, listen to their feedback and together we constantly seek ways to grow and evolve. Seychelles Medical team are like a family unit and when there is a sense of camaraderie in the workplace team members trust each other and genuinely enjoy working together. This, coupled with the fact that the Seychelles is renowned throughout the world for its stunning natural beauty and pristine beaches, offers a great quality of life to those living in the country.

The Seychelles archipelago is made up of 115 islands, many of which are remote and difficult to reach, with no medical faculties. How does Seychelles Medical cope with these barriers?

Our telemedicine service enables patients located on an outer Island to have an immediate doctor consultation. Additionally, having a workforce that understand the islands is imperative, as well as a network of providers that are able to assist us to navigate moving around these islands. We utilise helicopters for search and rescue and airlines that can provide inter-island transfers and have our own fleet of vehicles for quickly and comfortably transferring patients from their hotel to hospital.