The Chief of Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Oladayo Amao, says the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) will continue to pay attention to medical needs of its personnel for efficient and effective service delivery.
Amao said this while unveiling the NAF’s Telehealth Clinic Centre/Telemedicine portal at NAF’s Base, Asokoro, Abuja on Tuesday.
He explained that the unveiling of the project brought to the fore the resolve of his administration to meet the health needs of NAF’s personnel, their families and dependent in a more efficient manner.
He explained further that the initiative was driven by the need to prioritise the welfare of the service personnel as well as boosting their moral across all levels in line with one of the key drivers of his administration.
“With the bulk of the country’s healthcare concentrated in larger cities, telemedicine helps to overcome the medical barriers and increases access to health care services.
“It is mainly designed to ease the burden of accessing healthcare of personnel. This technology, literally, brings the hospital to patients door steps, through the use of smartphones and other devices,” he said.
Earlier, the Chief of Medical Services, NAF Headquarters, Air Commodore Olabode Babalola, noted that the introduction of telemedicine into the service was timely.
“In this COVID-19 pandemic era, people coming into close contact are seen as exposing themselves to the virus, telemedicine will be useful in that circumstance.
“It will also go a long way in addressing manpower shortages frequently experienced in the medical profession just like any other profession.
“Deployment of telemedicine will go a long way in taking healthcare to the personnel in a highly remote areas where access to health care is limited or unavailable,” he said.(NAN)