On the occasion of Philips’ sixth consecutive Cape Town to Cairo roadshow, Philips in collaboration with Ori Iyanrin Primary Healthcare Center (the “Healthcare Centre”) unveiled an extensive overhaul and refurbishment of the mother and child care facilities at the Healthcare Centre.
Philips has upgraded the facilities in the labour, paediatric and new born baby wards, designing them to support the well-being and recovery of expectant mothers and their new born babies. It is anticipated that over time, as a result of this pioneering project, many lives will also be saved.
The Healthcare Center, located in Iru/Victoria Island, LCDA, Lagos, has a very high patient in-flow with an average of 300-400 outpatients per month, as well as 30-40 follow up appointments per week. The Healthcare Center records an average of twenty (20) births per month. The labour, pediatric and new born units in the Healthcare Center prior to the refurbishment were in need of an upgrade.
The Healthcare Center is the largest amongst three primary healthcare centers in the district - Oniru Primary Health Centre and Takwa Bay Island Primary Health Centre being the other two; all of which have minimal manpower. Therefore the upgrading of the Healthcare Center will benefit all three centers, and enable them to provide more efficient patient care.
Calming environment for mothers and babies
The project, undertaken by Philips has resulted in a complete overhaul and renovation of existing mother and child care facilities. Philips began by painting and decorating the wards in order to create a serene and calming environment; Philips has also installed new toilets, tables, chairs, beds and cabinets.
In addition, all the light fittings have been retrofitted with the latest Philips LED lighting solutions; LED lighting enables rest and recovery, as it’s not as harsh as conventional fluorescent lighting, it requires minimal maintenance and also helps to reduce energy consumption. Earlier, due to frequent power outages as well as poor and sporadic lighting, doctors found it very challenging to deliver babies at night time, this problem is now eliminated. This new innovative solar LED lighting provides safe and uninterrupted illumination, while saving costs.
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| Philips VISIQ - Tablet-sized miniaturized ultrasound |
Philips has also invested in landscaping and beautifying the roundabout and streets surrounding the Healthcare Centre; all elements to provide a clean and attractive area, as well as easy access to the Healthcare Center.
Installing lifesaving Innovations
To further improve the maternal health and child care facilities, Philips has also provided the Healthcare Center with a range of its innovative solutions, many of which have been developed specifically with African conditions in mind.
Innovative ultra-mobile ultrasound
Noticing the lack of basic ultrasound in the labour ward, Philips has equipped the Healthcare Center with its innovative ultra-mobile ultrasound system VISIQ; the size of a tablet, the VISIQ is the first ultra-mobile system from Philips. VISIQ’s unique combination of mobility, ease of use and image quality, will enable clinicians in the Healthcare Centre to carry out comprehensive obstetric and abdominal scans themselves rather than referring patients to larger ultrasound centers or hospitals. This enables fast diagnosis and treatment.
Approximately ten times smaller than a traditional ultrasound machine and with reduced energy consumption, VISIQ can be used for screening, triage and fetal well-being scans, all of which helps to address the critical issue of maternal and infant care in Nigeria.
Monitoring with assurance
In addition, Philips has also installed its Efficia patient monitor in the Healthcare Center. Designed to be both portable and intuitive, and using time-tested physiological measurement algorithms the Efficia monitor will empower staff at the Healthcare Centre with actionable, care-specific information required to make patient management decisions and provide fast and efficient patient care.
Furthermore, to ensure proper usage of the technology, Philips is conducting an extensive training workshop at the Healthcare Center for midwives, maternity nurses, obstetricians and ultrasound practitioners; the objective is to provide hands-on application training, as well as a clinical refresher course on where to look and what to look for, and how to use this information to guide diagnoses and treatment decisions.
Speaking at the inauguration of the refurbished facilities, Robin Armstrong, General Manager, Philips Healthcare, West Africa said, “It gives me great pleasure to unveil the renovation of the mother and child care facilitates at the Healthcare Center. This project will hopefully ease the burden for the healthcare workers in the district, and in time save many lives as well. Most expectant women visiting this facility can now have access to care which will help to keep both them and their babies healthy.”
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