True to his word, Digicel Chair Denis O’Brien promised during his last visit to Nauru in late November to bring telemedicine to the RoN Hospital within a month.
On 28 December, the official handover of the service to President Baron Waqa and the RoNH was performed by Digicel Nauru CEO Deepak Khanna at the hospital’s conference room.
The telemeds teleconference bridge opening was attended by President Waqa and Madam Louisa Waqa, Health Minister Charmaine Scotty along with members of her executive health team.
Digicel’s team included CEO Khanna with technicians on-site as well as back at the Digicel offices in Aiwo who performed a demonstration of the equipment for the President.
Telemedicines enable doctors anywhere in the world to access medical specialists via video-link in real-time for case consultation.
Now, doctors and patients on Nauru have full and complete access to this technology with Digicel providing not only the hardware but also the dedicated high-speed bandwidth of 5Mpbs that can connect, using Zoom web-conferencing app, up to 50 users, including mobile users.
At the opening ceremony, Mr Khanna thanked President Waqa for his vision in identifying connectivity as a significant material concern for increasing positive health outcomes in Nauru.
‘What we are presenting to you is the best. Today, the best of hospitals in Australia, within the United States are suing this system.”
“This is a teleconferencing set-up where we are able to connect to any hospital anywhere across the world. All they need to do is share that particular link. With the high-definition camera, X-ray reports can be shown,” Mr Khanna said.
He described the teleconferencing service as stage one with stage two extending the service to the operating theatre.
According to the Nursing Director, Moralene Capelle, the system can now be used for the nurses Regional Alliance monthly teleconferences that were previously conducted by telephone.
Another application has been suggested for use in the recruitment of health staff.
Nauru telemeds service will also add to RoNH’s ability to share its specialized knowledge with other health service suppliers in the region and globally.
Photo Nauru Bulletin. Caption: President Baron Waqa (left) with Digicel Nauru CEO, Deepak Khanna