• Signs MoU With Helium Health, Sterling Bank
Ekiti State Government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Helium Health and Sterling Bank Plc. to improve access to health care services in the state. It is also aimed at digitising patients’ data in Ekiti hospitals.

Speaking at the official signing of the MoU in Ado Ekiti, at the weekend, the Commissioner for Health, Dr. Oyebanji Filani, said the project would remove redundancy, failure in hospitals and transform the health care system. 

He said the partnership would help to leverage the private sector to modernise the health sector for a better service delivery to its citizens and boost the N2.5b already invested in the sector, this year.

“Digitisation process in health system, globally, helps to  reduce wastages and redundancy, as well as inject  transparency and accountability into our medical facilities.

“With this technological innovation, there will be a tremendous improvement in keeping healthcare records and quick delivery of health care services in our facilities,” Filani said.

Head Regional Growth, Public Sector, Helium Health, Mr. Abiola Osunniyi, said the organisation would commit N300m to provide digital technology for some health facilities in the state.

Osunniyi, who added that the focus would be principally on secondary health facilities as pilots, said four general hospitals would be used to kick-start the project that would be co-financed by three partners.

Osunniyi said: “The MoU is to provide critical health infrastructure for digitisation of the four hospitals in Ekiti that would be used as pilots before expanding. The essence is to digitise patients’ data, so that our doctors can access them easily for improved and quick healthcare delivery.

“One of mandates of Dr. Kayode Fayemi’s government is delivery of quality health care to citizens. As a private organisation, we want to support the government through provision of technology in hospitals.

“We have done this partnership with Akwa Ibom and Lagos states’ governments, which revolves primarily around technology to bridge the gap that exists in patients’ data. There is usually a gap.

The old days when patients’ data were contained on papers are over.

“In most cases, patients’ records got lost, but with provision of these digital infrastructure, their data can be protected.

“We are leveraging the private sector to raise funds for the state. We are in partnership with banking and telecommunication sectors to help the public sector. We are investing N300m to drive the project”.

The Group Head of Health, Sterling Bank Plc., Mrs. Ibironke Akinmade, said the kernel of the partnership was to ensure easy access to medical records and reduce leakages in the system. 

“The Sterling Bank, six months ago, set up funds to help in digitising some health facilities, to improve health, education, energy and agriculture sectors, which are our focal areas in the country’s development,” she said.