By Abubakar Yunus Abuja
Barau Dikko Teaching Hospital Kaduna (BDTH) have acquired telemedicine machine for treatment of patients in Birnin-Gwari council ravaged by insecurity and other hard to reach areas in the state.
The hospital also launched Professor Tabari Telemedicine Centre to enable residents of the State have access to healthcare services without barriers.
The telemedicine equipment was donated to Barau Dikko Teaching Hospital by World Telehealth Initiative through Concern Medics Foundation, United Kingdom (UK).
Speaking at the launching of the telemedicine centre and the equipment in Kaduna his address, the Chief Medical Director (CMD), BDTH, Prof. Abdulkadir Musa Tabari said the patients from those remote communities affected with insecurity can be treated without difficulties.
Professor Tabari said very soon they will start to treat patients from Birnin Gwari town without necessarily coming to Barau Dikko teaching hospital.
“With this telemedicine, we can reach out to the 23 local government of the State, we are going to link up with the patients from remote areas. They don’t need to come here to access healthcare services”
He thanked the foundation for bringing the telemedicine to hospital which made it the first of it kind in the north.
In her remarks,the Founder of Concerned Medics Foundation, Dr. Halima Sadiyah Gumi described the launching of equipment and centre as an added advantage for BDTH,
Dr. Gumi who is also Paediatric Consultant for the hospital said it will cushion the effect of brain drain and as well avail medical practitioners in the hospital with the opportunity to link up with their counterparts abroad for joint operation on patients from distance.
According to her, they are trying to improve healthcare services in Nigeria and to support those doctors that are actually doing the work and one of the ways to support them is provision of this machine.
“We are supporting them to improve healthcare services in Nigeria, when I saw this webinar of telemedicine being done in other countries, I felt we should do it here in our country and that is why I came.
“I should be part of volunteering to support in any difficult cases, many other Nigerians and non Nigerians are also volunteering, we have a timetable if there is a need for specialty we will get the specialty from UK and US”.
