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When doctors conduct surgeries remotely in Makueni
The country currently has fewer than 1,000 slots available for medicine programmes in both public and private universities, against a demand of more than 5,000.
An innovative programme through which medics in Makueni County perform delicate surgical and obstetric procedures on patients virtually has received a major boost after the county government struck a deal with a Kenyan company to provide reliable internet connection.
Through Proximie, a global health technology platform, it takes a surgeon in Makueni County a set of cameras, internet connection and a screen to conduct delicate operations on patients virtually in some selected hospitals. The platform also enables doctors to mentor clinicians virtually by allowing them to access live surgical procedures.
Makueni Governor Mutula Kilonzo Junior said unreliable internet has been a key bottleneck in the scaling of the technology. This problem is set to be a thing of the past after his administration struck a deal with Mawingu Foundation to enhance internet connectivity in rural hospitals.
The partnership has come at a time when Mr Kilonzo Jnr’s administration has embarked on digitizing health records and operations to improve healthcare outcomes. Under the latest agreement, Mawingu Foundation has committed to deploy either Starlink satellite or terrestrial broadband internet connectivity to 17 hospitals across Makueni County in the first phase. The Nation understands that the internet boost targets dispensaries and sub-county hospitals.
“Through this partnership with Makueni County government and Proximie, we are bringing premium, hospital-grade internet to hospitals that have historically been priced out of the digital economy, and at a price point that makes countywide adoption realistic. The result is a digitally connected healthcare ecosystem that supports better clinical collaboration, faster access to specialist expertise, and improved patient outcomes for communities which have traditionally faced connectivity barriers,” Mawingu Foundation CEO Farouk Ramji said.
A reliable internet connectivity is expected to improve the experience of clinicians at rural hospitals who access live surgical and obstetric procedures performed by doctors. Mr Kilonzo Jnr says the technology has significantly reduced the number of maternal deaths in the county.
Major milestone
Mr Kilonzo Jnr characterised the collaboration with Proximie and Mawingu Foundation as a major milestone in the county’s quest to improve healthcare services, saying it is set to promote universal healthcare while optimizing on available medics. “For too long, world-class digital health tools have been out of reach for our rural and sub-county facilities, not because the technology does not exist, but because the connectivity needed to power it was not affordable.
“We are bringing the same standard of digital infrastructure available in Nairobi’s leading hospitals into the wards and theatres that serve our residents every day, and we are doing it sustainably so that Makueni families receive better, faster, and safer care regardless of where they live,” he told reporters on the sidelines of a ceremony to sign the deal at Wote Town.
Shannon Shibata-Germanos, the head of global health at Proximie, also graced the ceremony on Friday. “We have realized that you cannot run any digital tool without great internet connectivity. Through this partnership, we are helping to create an environment where clinicians at sub-county hospitals, where the majority of Kenyans receive frontline surgical care, can access real time specialist support, receive mentorship, collaborate more effectively and ultimately improve surgical and patient care outcomes across underserved communities,” she said.
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