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Guernsey-woman, Dr Michelle Le Cheminant has been appointed as Deputy Chair of the island's Medical Specialist Group, paving the way for her to be come its first female leader, and its youngest, in the future.
Educated at Castel Primary School and Ladies’ College before studying medicine at the University of Cambridge, Dr Le Cheminant qualified as a doctor at King’s College London.
The consultant anaesthetist says she was first inspired to follow this path when she was a teenager.
"At the age of 14 I suddenly suffered significant ill health, and the MSG paediatricians cared for me," she recalls. "I was unwell for over a year, missing almost 18 months of school. It was this experience that generated my interest in healthcare.
"Then in sixth form, I did work experience with consultant anaesthetist Dr Gary Yarwood. He not only cemented my decision to apply for medicine and but also gave me a very early and long-lasting interest in anaesthesia and critical care."
Throughout her seven-year anaesthetic training programme in the UK, Dr Le Cheminant kept in touch with the MSG.
"With all my family in Guernsey, I returned regularly. I had the good fortune to undertake a three-month placement with the MSG in 2016 and knew I wanted to return.
"There were stark differences in the care provided locally compared to my NHS work, particularly the face-to-face anaesthetic pre-assessment clinics for every patient, providing very high-quality care - a rewarding experience for a clinician."
During her medical training, Dr Le Cheminant worked for six months as a visiting lecturer in anaesthesia in Zambia. Since 2017 she has taken part in seven training programmes with eyecare charity Orbis International in Mongolia, Vietnam, Zambia and China.
After training, while waiting for a position to arise with the MSG, she worked as a locum consultant at University College London Hospitals.
"A job came up in May 2019 and I came home!
"I was overjoyed to be back. I had met my now husband in Guernsey in 2017 - he's local too, a Le Ray. I'm now fortunate enough to work alongside Gary, the consultant who set me out on this path all those years ago.
"Over the years the MSG has treated, and indeed saved the lives of, multiple members of my family, including my mother and grandmother in our own Critical Care unit.
"This organisation is deeply rooted in me, and I feel very proud of the excellent standard of healthcare that it provides to our local population. We are very fortunate to benefit from a consultant-delivered service that provides a much more personalised approach to care.
"I want the MSG to be there for my family - and indeed for me - when the time comes, just as it is there for every member of our community."
In her new role, she will work alongside the current MSG Chair Dr Steve Evans, learning from the breadth of his management experience. Under the succession plan, she is expected to eventually take over as Chair, becoming the group’s first female leader and its youngest.
"I'm absolutely committed to ensuring the MSG adapts over the coming years to meet the demands of our ageing population. It's a challenging time in healthcare but I think we have the right team and the motivation to meet these challenges.
‘I've always had an interest in the management side of healthcare, although this role has come rather sooner than expected. My approach is very much to bring people along with me and try to come to the best solution for everyone concerned, always ensuring that the needs of our patients come first."
Dr Evans added: "Michelle is a valuable member of the management board and I have no doubt that she will do a great job in this new role as we focus on delivering outstanding patient-centred services to improve the health of our island community."
Pictured top: Dr Steve Evans and Dr Michelle Le Cheminant.
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