Video conferencing manufacturer Polycom links London to Iraq for telemedicine lectures

Five of London's consultant anaesthetists participated in a telemedicine lecture series on Thursday (October 1st) for Iraqi health care professionals. In a partnership between British charity International Medical Corps and a new medical education project called Anaesthesia 4 Iraq, a day of lectures has been given from the International Medical Corps offices in Islington to over 100 Iraqi anaesthetists gathered at the National Lecture Theatre in Baghdad, Iraq via telepresence and video

Dr Maan Hasan, Dr Baha Al-Shaikh, Dr Mohammed Al-Sahaf (all originally from Iraq), Dr Neville Robinson and Dr Roger Sharpe are all based in London hospitals. The Iraqi participants - students and specialists in anaesthesia and emergency medicine - are from intensive care, cardiac care and respiratory care units from hospitals in Baghdad, Ramadi, Basra, Erbil and Mosul.
 
In the last two decades, at least 20,000 of Iraq's 35,000 registered doctors have fled the country, including many of the most senior doctors. Dr Maan Hasan, consultant anaesthetist at University College London Hospitals and founder of Anaesthesia 4 Iraq said, 'Years of war and economic sanctions have seen Iraq playing catch-up to maintain its medical services, drugs, devices, education and training necessary for high standards of healthcare.'
 
To mitigate the effects of this, International Medical Corps has been running a country-wide Continuing Medical Education/Continuing Professional Development (CME/CPD) programme for physicians and administrators. This two-year effort, which began in late 2007, involves physicians from the US and the UK with different specialties, who travel to Iraq to train their Iraqi counterparts.
 
International Medical Corps are now expanding the possibilities of this programme by welcoming Anaesthesia 4 Iraq to their London offices to give lectures via Polycom systems - allowing UK consultants to conduct lectures without having to travel to Iraq. These lectures are the beginning of a series of telemedicine and medical education efforts aimed to provide improved medical care for hard to reach and underserved regions.

 
"We're committed to bringing together the best professionals in anaesthesia and intensive care in the UK and the world," said Dr Hasan. "I hope that this event will provide an inspiration to raise standards of practice, audit, research, and post graduate studies and examination in anaesthesia and intensive care to levels akin to those in the UK, Europe and the US."
 
Director of International Medical Corps UK, Peter Medway commented, "This initiative has tremendous potential. We are providing Iraqi doctors, thirsty for the latest skills and techniques, with expert guidance from the some of the world's leading anaesthetists. Alongside our previous Continuing Medical Education programmes we hope to make a truly lasting impact on the quality of healthcare in Iraq."
 
"Polycom is honoured to be a part of such an important programme," said Ray McGroarty, Solutions Marketing Director for Europe, Middle East & Africa at Polycom.  "Our high definition telemedicine solutions provide the doctors in London and Iraq a lifelike experience that's almost like being in the same room. As this praiseworthy telehealth programme evolves, we expect the Polycom visual communications offerings to serve as an excellent resource."