Barau Dikko Teaching Hospital Launches Professor Tabari Telemedicine Center In Kaduna

NEWS PANORAMA, Kaduna, Nigeria

by Zakari Isah

The Barau Dikko Teaching hospital, Kaduna state has launched one of its kind the first Telemedicine Center, which was named Professor Tabari Telemedicine Center is designed to save lives right from home via telecommunication technology.

The launching was held at the Department of Paediatrics, Barau Diko Teaching Hospital Kaduna, on the 13th of December, 2022, the initiative is in collaboration with the Concerned Medics Foundation with support from World Telehealth Initiative.

According to the Founder Concerned Medics Foundation, Consultant Pediatrician in the United Kingdom, Dr. Sadiya Gumi, said due to massive brain-drained among specialists in health facilities in Nigeria, the foundation canvased and facilitated the acquisition of the telemedicine machine for Barau Dikko Teaching Hospital.

She said, “we have a lot of doctors leaving Nigeria as we all know and there is a massive ongoing brain-draining, people like me started from Nigeria and am now practicing in the UK for twenty-five years, so I feel how can we help our country by supporting those doctors Nigeria who are doing the work”.

“As a Paediatrician (Doctor) seeing the needful to help with this machine and I will want my country to have such opportunity, that was why we decided to bring it to Barau Diko Teaching Hospital Kaduna”.

She added that the machine is the second project brought into the Barau Dikko teaching hospital.

“I will love to contribute my quarters in savings lives, especially children, and it is my joy that this has come to be today”.

In his welcome address, the Chief Medical Director professor Abdulkadir Musa Tabari thanked Concerned Medics Foundation in the UK, a non-profit, non-governmental organization of Nigerians in the diaspora linked up with the World Telehealth Initiative for the provision of the machine.
He noted that the hospital is also partnering with the Concerned Medics Foundation in other fields such as Emergency Medicine and Child health.

Professor Tabari said, “with the acquisition of this machine in Barau Dikko Teaching Hospital, we can now consult patients remotely, especially in the hard-to-reach areas”.

“The Telemedicine Services will avail us the opportunity to virtually consult patients from the 31 General Hospitals, as well as the over 1’200 Primary Health Care Centers across the state”

He said, in a few weeks from now the Telemedicine service will start with the General Hospital, Birnin Gwari.

“We are happy that with this our patients can get access to treatment and no need for them to come to the hospital from afar.

The Board and Management of Barau Dikko Teaching Hospital Kaduna expressed their profound gratitude to the World Telehealth Initiative and Teladoc Health, the global leaders in virtual care for the donation of the device which was launched.

In his remarks, the Chairman of, the Medical Advisory Committee, Dr. Shuaibu Musa, said the center is set to revolutionize healthcare Delivery in Kaduna state.

He said the Tele- medicine, is a modern way of providing medical care, in which doctors and patients can consult with each other remotely.

“It has unique features including authentic visuals of patients through Pan-tilt zoom head that is optimized for doctor viewing, clear communication between doctor and patients, which provide audio, high quality live video and media tools”, he added.