MEET ARIANA
Dr. Charles Umeh is a medical doctor and Telemedicine professional . He graduated from Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Nigeria in 2015 and has worked in several hospitals and NGOs since then. As a telemedicine professional, he co-authored “Fundamentals of telemedicine and telehealth” published by Elsevier in 2019.
He is a member of the International Medical Informatics association and Healthcare informatics society of Nigeria.
As a social entrepreneur, he runs a mobile clinic Enterprise (Parkers Mobile Clinic) through which he renders healthcare services at the doorstep of vulnerable individuals living in Anambra, Nigeria. We were curious about his project especially since it’s a relatively new concept and it is increasingly difficult accessing basic healthcare services for most people now due to fear of visiting hospitals and becoming exposed to COVID-19.
NEVER MISS OUT ON A GOOD OPPORTUNITY
I tested this idea with my old school teacher who was diagnosed of osteoporosis 6 years ago. She has her hand fractured 2 times in the last 3 years, so I felt she will really be in need of the mobile clinic.
The mobile clinic, accompanied by a nurse and sometimes a Doctor and physiotherapist, were visiting her on a weekly basis to do routine check up on her health condition and also counsel her on weight bearing exercises.
We were also sending weekly health and fitness text messages to her through her mobile phone. We did a medical record of her data using an excel spreadsheet which was our make-shift on electronic medical record system. We improvised a wearable sensor, using a small Bluetooth device fixed on her right forearm which was connected to my mobile device.
MEDICINE RIGHT AT YOUR DOORSTEP
Parkers mobile clinic is a movable clinic which provides healthcare services at the doorstep of the elderly, disabled, chronically ill and other vulnerable groups of people living in Anambra state, Nigeria.
They are trying to solve the problem of poor accessibility to basic healthcare services and emergency health services among people who are bound to stay at the home due to the Covid-19 lockdown especially the elderly, disabled, chronically ill and people living in rural areas.
Over 80% of people in this target group in Anambra state do not have access to basic care for their condition. This is due to the fact over 90% of them do not have cars or access to good transportation system which will convey them to hospital on time, in case of medical emergencies or the need to visit hospital.
The project involves using movable clinics to deliver healthcare services at the comfort of their homes. Our healthcare services include nursing care, physiotherapy, health counseling, health education and training.
THE FUTURE IS HERE
As we continue on growing The Mobile Clinic will hope to be equipped with basic medical service facilities such as ultrasound scan and X-ray machines, hospital beds, Resuscitation devices etc. There will be a nurse and a Doctor attached to the clinic daily. We will have an emergency toll free number which patients call when they need our services. We will also remotely monitor the health of the patients.
We will do this using a satellite system which will be connected to a sensor that the patient will wear. Our project is easily saleable because it involves using an everyday human resource i.e. Doctors, nurses and also using facilities which are already in usage in hospitals.
Connecting with people and communities would require a robust social media campaign and thorough community sensitization campaigns. That is why we are implementing, door to door visits for our target audiences in their homes.
The idea is to scale and sustain our project by establishing a micro-health insurance scheme where patients will pay just 15 USD monthly in order to unlimitedly access our services. This fund will enable us to sustain the mobile clinic. Additionally, we will scale the project through sourcing for funds from philanthropists, NGOs and through establishing partnerships with hospitals and other health organizations.
Currently our project supports in the fight against coronavirus by delivering basic healthcare services at the doorstep of people who are under lockdown due to the COVID-19 Crisis. We also plan to use the coronavirus test kit to test those at risk and the general public at the comfort of their homes. They will be delivering hand sanitizers, face masks and other protective equipments at the doorstep of individuals who are in lock down.
Parkers Mobile Clinic project will improve healthcare accessibility in Anambra state, Nigeria. If fully implemented over a 6 months period, over 500,000 people could be impacted positively in their health and well being .
Parkers Clinic won the Commonwealth Youth Council Covid 19 Grant
CYC announces the awardees of its historic #CYCCares Mini-Grants
They won the OPENIDEO Healthy bone challenge:
https://challenges.openideo.com/challenge/healthy-bones/refinement/parkers-mobile-clinic
Proud recipients of The AYADA LAB Grant (3000 Euros) and the Clinton global initiative travel grant.
