Dr Le Cheminant took over the role from Steve Evans at the beginning of this year, and from the start she said she intended to focus on providing the best quality of on-island care possible.
Her comments followed the recent review of how the MSG was performing in relation to the key performance indicators it agreed with Health & Social Care.
‘We have the opportunity when we have service reviews to think about planning for the future, so we go through a sort of rolling programme of service reviews of different specialities,’ she said.
‘I will wait to hear the outcomes of the discussions around modernisation because that will play a big part in the direction of travel.’
But ultimately it is the people who are the key factor, she said.
‘There’s almost a snowball effect of when you get some really high-quality appointments and that attracts more people.’
She has created an induction handbook for new doctors moving to the island to help them understand something about the differences of working in the island and to help them settle in.
‘We’ve been very successful in recent months with recruitment and the quality of staff and the dedication of the staff and they’re working well together as a team,’ she said.
‘And that’s not just our doctors, that’s our administrative staff, our nursing staff.’
Born in Guernsey and educated at Castel Primary and The Ladies’ College, Dr Le Cheminant studied medicine at Cambridge followed by three years of clinical study at King’s College London Medical School.
After working at London’s University College Hospital, she returned to Guernsey and joined the MSG in May 2019 as an anaesthetist.
Recently, there have been issues with patient waiting times, and new staff have been appointed to help address this, including a new urologist.
But there are other factors.
‘Within the system itself, in each different area, there are potential opportunities for efficiencies,’ she said.
‘There are potential opportunities for having different pathways. So, for example, the gastroenterology waiting list – some patients were diverted to a different pathway, having a different test, and that’s helped us with the waiting list. But some areas require capital investment.’
She cited operating theatre capacity as an example, with the planned next phase of the PEH development set to include new operating theatres but currently in limbo owing to financial constraints.
‘Theatre capacity is not easily resolved with additional workforce. Perhaps if you had additional workforce, you may be able to run the theatre an extra hour later. But ultimately, in the long term, investment in capital projects is needed.’
Another issue that has been in the news is the number of complaints, which was recently revealed had risen in 2025 by 27% across Health & Social Care and the MSG compared with 2024.
While Dr Le Cheminant said she did not have sight of all complaints, which were handled by a separate customer care team, she was occasionally made aware of those that could have wider implications.
But she did receive a monthly report based on ‘touch and tell’ screens that have been installed at the MSG practices and she said that the most commonly raised issue was waiting times.
‘We can learn from complaints. But in among all of this, a lot of the comments since we installed the touch screens where people can write and leave their feedback were really lovely comments about our staff and the quality of care they receive,’ she said.
Looking back on her time in the job so far, she said it had been challenging but rewarding.
‘It’s been challenging, there’s no doubt about it.
‘This despite having done a year as Steve’s deputy, there’s still a lot to learn. It’s a very different way of working for me. I’ve got to work quite differently with people within the organisation that I wouldn’t perhaps have worked closely with before, just doing anaesthetics. But it is a rewarding job.
‘It’s a difficult job as well. It’s difficult being in the public eye, particularly with social media and things like that. I’m sure our politicians feel that way as well.’
Among her hopes for the future is to see medical students in Guernsey, and the MSG is exploring possible relationships with university partners in the UK to see how medical student placements could be supported in the island.
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