Boehringer Ingelheim has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Ministry of Health (MoH) in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) to expand its Angels Initiative telestroke services through Seha Virtual Hospital. 

 

The MoU was signed during the Global Health Exhibition in Riyadh, an annual event that brings together healthcare professionals, innovators, and policymakers to highlight advancements in healthcare technology, medical devices, pharmaceuticals, and health services. 

 

The collaboration between the two parties aims to address the prevalence of stroke in KSA which stands at 43.8 per 100,000, largely influenced by low public awareness and knowledge. 

 

Partnership expansion

The two parties entered an agreement in 2022 to incorporate telestroke services in 11 hospitals across the kingdom through the Boehringer Ingelheim’s Angels Initiative which aims to help hospitals around the world become ‘stroke-ready’ so that patients can be treated as quickly and effectively as possible. In line with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, the partnership will involve the expansion of Boehringer Ingelheim’s telestroke services through the Seha Virtual Hospital, further enhancing the public’s accessibility to stroke care. 

 

The partnership will also focus on key areas such as educational and training programmes for healthcare professionals, public awareness initiatives to educate the community on stroke risk factors and early warning signs, and the creation of a comprehensive Stroke Registry in KSA to ensure data-driven improvements in patient care.

 

The MoU was signed by Khaled bin Nayef Al-Obaiwi, Operations Manager of Secondary and Tertiary Command Centre at MoH Saudi Arabia, and Abdallah Hamed, General Manager & Head of Human Pharma Saudi Arabia, Gulf and East Africa (SAGEA) at Boehringer Ingelheim, during an official ceremony attended by Dr Sattam Al-Otaibi, Assistant General Director of Hospitals at the Ministry of Health, and Dr. Mohammed Aljohani, Consultant in Neurology & Vascular Neurology (Stroke) and Neuro-interventions Specialist, and President of Saudi Stroke Society. 

 

Stroke incidences

Al-Obaiwi said: “Stroke incidences and related deaths have risen across KSA in relation to multiple factors, including the aging population, and low public awareness of stroke risk factors, causes and symptoms. Timely intervention is of utmost importance for stroke patients as it can minimise the long-term effects of a stroke and save patients’ lives. We are very pleased to build on our collaboration with Boehringer Ingelheim to leverage their world-class telestroke services further through our Seha Virtual Hospital, ensuring more patients have timely access to stroke support across the kingdom.”

Hamed added: “Our growing partnership with the MoH in Saudi Arabia is a testament to our ongoing commitment to working alongside the public sector to create patient-oriented healthcare solutions that improve patient outcomes in support of the kingdom’s Vision 2030.”

 

Boehringer Ingelheim’s Angels Initiative seeks to reduce the burden of stroke for patients by working with hospitals to build an innovative network of stroke-ready hospitals worldwide to reduce treatment delays and provide patients with optimal standards of acute stroke care. The initiative works with doctors, nurses, and ambulance crews to build acute stroke networks, optimise treatment and diagnosis, and implement best practices enabling multidisciplinary stroke teams to act faster to minimise the burden of stroke on patients’ lives.--TradeArabia News Service