French anaesthetists enjoy a friendly visit to the MSG

The visit came about as a result of MSG consultant anaesthetist Dr Stefan Andersson carrying out his off-island attachment in Caen in 2023.

Ludovic is an Assistant, the equivalent of a junior consultant, and Lina is in her final cycle of medical training as a Resident.

They work in the CHU in Caen, a large teaching hospital which has more than 1700 beds and 7,500 staff. The hospital has three ICU units for cardiac and thoracic, surgery and medical with 50 beds in total and there are around 50 consultants and 70 residents (doctors in training) in the anaesthetic team.

Despite the differences in size between the anaesthetic department in Caen and in Guernsey, Ludovic said there were a lot of similarities in the way that patients are cared for. For example, in France anaesthetists also see their patients for an outpatient appointment ahead of surgery unlike the situation in the UK where the anaesthetist will only see them on the day.

Ludovic and Lina observed theatres, ICU and clinics during their week in Guernsey and got to visit the soon to be opened ICU which they were very impressed by.

Ludovic said, ‘People are very friendly in Guernsey, much more so than back home, and there’s a really nice atmosphere at the PEH.’

Lina agreed and added that she had really enjoyed exploring the island and going for runs along the coast.