By Moses Kolo
The Federal Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital, Kaduna, has launched a telepsychiatry service to enable patients to access continuing mental healthcare remotely from the comfort of their homes.
The service, tagged “Connect-Consult-Care” and the first of its kind in Nigeria, is designed to improve access to psychiatric care while reducing the cost and inconvenience associated with travelling to the hospital.
Speaking at the inauguration on Wednesday in Kaduna, Prof. Aishatu Arimaya’u, the hospital’s Medical Director, said the initiative would particularly benefit patients who travel long distances for routine follow-up treatment.
Arimaya’u said some patients and their relatives were compelled to spend considerable amounts on transportation, accommodation and feeding whenever they travelled to Kaduna for treatment.
She said the new service would allow patients to continue their treatment from their respective locations, while the hospital concentrated more on new patients and those requiring specialised or difficult interventions.
According to her, Kaduna State Government has demonstrated commitment to mental healthcare, while the hospital has trained personnel across 23 centres to strengthen mental-health services in the state.
She said the arrangement would also give the hospital more time to train health workers, conduct research and develop better practices in mental healthcare.
Arimaya’u said the telepsychiatry platform brings together doctors, nurses, pharmacists, laboratory scientists, health-information personnel, administrators and other relevant professionals to coordinate patients’ care.
She said patients could access consultations and other clinical processes remotely, adding that the platform would also enable the hospital to know the number of patients expected and the services they require before they visit.
The Medical Director expressed appreciation to the hospital’s staff and ICT team for developing the platform, describing its launch as an important step towards making mental healthcare more accessible.
Dr Mohammed Gidado, Head of the hospital’s Telepsychiatry Unit, said the initiative was conceived after observing the financial and logistical difficulties faced by patients travelling from distant locations for treatment.
Gidado recalled the case of a patient and a companion from Sanga, who had travelled to the hospital but were unable to complete their consultation that day and had to spend the night before returning for treatment.
He said the experience highlighted the need to develop a system that would enable patients to receive appropriate follow-up care without always having to travel to the hospital.
Gidado said the service was available to the hospital’s patients with internet access and a valid Electronic Medical Record (EMR) number, adding that it was currently focused strictly on clinical services.
He explained that patients would not need to be technology experts to use the platform, as the system had been designed to be simple and accessible, with instructional materials to guide users.
He said the hospital would continue to improve the platform as it gains experience, stressing that the ultimate objective was to make mental healthcare more accessible to patients regardless of their location. (NAN)
Edited by Yakubu Uba
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