Manama: Mohammed Ali Al Qaed, Information & eGovernment Authority (iGA) Chief Executive and Chairman of Information and Communication Technology Governance Committee (ICTGC), highlighted Bahrain’s pioneering use of healthcare robots at isolation units treating novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) patients, citing it as a pioneering project in the GCC region.
Ministry of Health Assistant Undersecretary for Resources and Services, Fatima Al Ahmed presented the ministry’s experience in using the technology at treatment wards and centers, in line with directives by Bahrain’s senior leadership to provide world class health services for COVID-19 patients.
The deployment of these robots offers protection to healthcare workers at the disinfection and sterilization unit, reducing their exposure to harmful materials. It also provides more efficient use of human and financial resources, saving the time and effort of medical staff. The ministry is using three types of robots, nurse robots, sterilization robots, and delivery robots. Nursing services provided include body temperature and vital signal checks, medicine and food deliveries to patients, and sterilizations of roofs, rooms, and buildings. The robots can communicate in 12 languages, allowing them to service a wide variety of nationalities.
The information was shared at the 35th ICTGC meeting, chaired by Al Qaed and members held remotely via Microsoft Teams. Al Qaed commended the members’ efforts during the exceptional circumstances the Kingdom and the rest of the world are going through.
The discussion covered committee project updates and operational expenses of government entities, including a number of strategic projects and purchase orders requested by government entities, most notably the development and improvement of the revenue collection platform at the National Bureau for Revenue (NBR), and development of the financial system at the Ministry of Finance and National Economy, an enhancement to the Electricity and Water Authority’s (EWA) security and monitoring system, and a renewal of technical IT support services at a number of other government organizations.
The committee continues to hold its meetings remotely via the Microsoft Team app to support the continuity of government sector activities, reduce expenses, save time, and streamline document sharing.
Present at the meeting were iGA Deputy CE, Operations & Governance, Shaikh Salman bin Mohammed Al Khalifa (Committee Vice Chairman); iGA Deputy CE, Electronic Transformation, Dr. Zakareya Ahmed AlKhajah; Information Advisor to the Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the Supreme Committee for Information and Communication Technology Dr. Aref AbdulRahman Abdulkarim; Ministry of Finance Assistant Undersecretary of Resources & Information and Future Generation Reserve CEO, Ebrahim Abul; Ministry of Education Assistant Under Secretary for Planning and Information, Nawal Ebrahim Al Khater; Ministry of Health Assistant Undersecretary for Resources and Services, Fatima Abdul Wahid Al Ahmed; Economic Development Board Director of Support Services and Talent Management, Maha Abdulhameed Mufeez, iGA Director, Governance and Enterprise Architecture Directorate, Dr. Khalid Almutawah; and the ICTGC supporting team.
