NGOs move to launch solar surgery system
23 September 2022 |
3:23 am
Global health Non Governmental Organisations, Smile Train and Kids Operating Room (KidsOR), announced an ambitious plan to reduce the cost and carbon footprint of surgery, while increasing quality and patient safety, across low- and middle-income countries, starting in Africa.
SMILE TRAIN, Medical Staff, Operation, KidsOR Scrubs, UTH
Global health Non Governmental Organisations, Smile Train and Kids Operating Room (KidsOR), announced an ambitious plan to reduce the cost and carbon footprint of surgery, while increasing quality and patient safety, across low- and middle-income countries, starting in Africa.
After a successful four-month solar panel pilot program at a mock operating room in Dundee, Scotland, where KidsOR is based, the two organizations are moving forward to provide sustainable, reliable power to operating rooms in parts of Africa where the main power grid is unstable and power outages are common.
Chief Executive Officer, of Smile Train, Susannah Schaefer said the initiative aims to give consistent and reliable power to medical professionals in the operating room that will enhance patient care and safety while protecting much-needed medical equipment that can be damaged when there’s a voltage irregularity with the main power grid
“We work closely with the team at KidsOR on hospital infrastructure projects and we asked them if they could develop a solution to this significant, multifaceted problem,” she added
Power cuts in African hospitals can severely impact patient care with many hospitals suffering from hundreds of hours of power outages each month. In some cases, these power cuts last for days. Meanwhile, when they’re working at full capacity, operating rooms are a significant source of greenhouse gas production for hospitals.
To help tackle this dual challenge, Smile Train and KidsOR will begin implementing stand-alone solar battery support systems in pediatric operating rooms in Africa in 2023, with the first hospitals being identified now. Solar panels will be mounted on the roof of a facility, which will charge a battery unit capable of powering medical equipment in an operating room continually during daylight and for a further six hours after sunset.
Picking up the challenge to develop a surgery-specific power system, Chairman, KidsOR, Garreth Wood, responded: “Our team are experts at working in remote and challenging environments and we approached this with a view that we had to provide seamless power supply to the operating rooms of even the most remote hospitals.
“Our solution is a combination of solar systems with some new developments, some of which are so unique that we 3D print them for each project. We can now deploy a power unit that removes reliance on the national grid, requires no diesel generator back-up, reduces the carbon footprint of each operation, increases patient safety and integrates high-tech activities like anaesthetic gas scavenging to even the world’s most remote hospital.
The non-profits said their shared model is to strengthen the local healthcare system and give the local doctors the tools and skills needed to care for their own population.
Garreth continued: “This unique solar surgery system makes the best possible care available to the most vulnerable and remote child. While improving health today, this partnership will also make sure we aren’t contributing to the climate change burdens of tomorrow.
Smile Train and KidsOR work together in countries around the world to increase the capacity for safe pediatric surgery, including lifesaving cleft lip and palate surgeries.
Related
3 hours ago
Landmark Group said the Lagos State government is yet to consult it on the Lagos-Calabar coastal road construction and beach sand filling. Landmark made this disclosure in a statement on Thursday and said the issue of the Lagos-Calabar coastal road passing through Landmark Beach remains a topic of wide-reaching discourse. The Group said it wants…
4 hours ago
The General Officer Commanding (GOC), 82 Division, Nigerian Army, Maj-Gen. Hassan Dada, has expressed concern about the high number of weapons in unauthorized hands in Nigeria.
6 hours ago
President Bola Tinubu has approved system-wide policies to comprehensively overhaul the education sector to improve learning and skill development, increase enrolment, and ensure the academic security of the nation's children. The approved policies are captured as DOTS, an acronym representing: Data Repository, Out-of-School Children Education, Teacher Training & Development, and Skill Development & Acquisition. According…
8 hours ago
The Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), has urged former Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, and others to honour the invitation of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). Fagbemi also hit out at Kogi State Governor, Usman Ododo, for obstructing the EFCC from arresting his successor, Bello…
8 hours ago
Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja has adjourned the case filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) against Yahaya Bello, the immediate past governor of Kogi State. The adjournment, set for April 23, 2024, was prompted by the pursuit of substituted service and the possible arraignment of Bello for…
9 hours ago
NORTHERN Elders Forum (NEF) has expressed deep concern over alleged harassment and attack on northerners conducting their legitimate businesses in southern Nigeria by criminal elements in the past three months. NEF clarifies that it had never engaged in any discussion regarding the politics of 2027 or decided on whom to support or not to…
9 hours ago
KANO Electricity Distribution Company (KEDCO) has concluded plans to invest N1.2 billion in network expansion and improvement of power supply to the famous Dawanau International Grains Market, Kano State. The Head, Corporate Communications, Sani Bala Sani, stated, yesterday, that the network expansion and power generation were some of the company's major plans to improve power supply…
9 hours ago
FORMER Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain, Senator Rafiu Ibrahim, who represented Kwara South in the 8th National Assembly, has passed on at 58 years of age. Ibrahim, who died about 4.30am, yesterday, at an Abuja hospital, has been buried according to Islamic rites in a Muslim cemetery, Osere, in Ilorin, Kwara State. The deceased was, reportedly,…
9 hours ago
Two of Africa's leading professional coaching bodies, the Life Coaches Association of Nigeria (LCAN) and the African Board of Consultants, Coaches and Coaching Psychologists (ABCCCP) have announced a landmark partnership to propel the coaching profession across the continent. This strategic alliance is poised to redefine standards, ethics, and professional development for coaches throughout Africa, setting…
×
Get the latest news delivered straight to your inbox every day of the week. Stay informed with the Guardian’s leading coverage of Nigerian and world news, business, technology and sports.
0 Comments
We will review and take appropriate action.