A Chester doctor is to be honoured by the President of Afghanistan for his pioneering work in establishing a lifesaving programme using the internet and smartphones.

Kabul-born Dr Waheed Arian, 32, a clinical radiology specialist registrar who lives in Chester, works at Aintree University Hospital in Liverpool.

Dr Arian runs a charitable trust called ARIAN TELE-HEAL, which has enabled volunteer UK doctors to teach and advise their Afghanistan colleagues using web-based video-conferencing and mobile phones. The telemedicine scheme has saved the lives of dozens of emergency patients at the five Kabul hospitals taking part.

Now Dr Mohammad Ashraf Ghani, the President of Afghanistan, is hosting a special conference in the New Year to mark the lifesaving scheme devised by Dr Arian.

President of Afghanistan Mohammad Ashraf Ghani

Dr Arian said: “Healthcare in Afghanistan is the most basic you could imagine for a developing country, despite Afghan doctors’ hard work and dedication. Using technology, I wanted to be able to offer the world-class medical knowledge we have here in the UK to their most seriously-injured patients.”

From arriving in UK alone aged 15 to achieving world class degrees

Dr Arian came to the UK alone aged 15 after suffering all his childhood in the Soviet-Afghan conflict, civil war and three years in a refugee camp in Pakistan. He went on to achieve world-class degrees, awards and scholarships from Cambridge University, Imperial Medical School and Harvard Medical School, with training in fields including radiology, general medicine, repatriation medicine, surgery and teaching.

Dr Arian has regularly returned to Afghanistan over the years to host teaching sessions for other doctors. Most recently, he established the first ever advanced trauma and emergency care course for Afghan specialists.

Under the tele-medicine scheme, Dr Arian and other volunteer medics from NHS hospitals in the North West now give up their spare time to discuss treatment options with their Afghan colleagues.

Dr Waheed Arian with chief medical officer Lars Lundberg at European Union Police Mission in Afghanistan

Dr Arian added: “The resources and knowledge to manage trauma and emergency patients in Afghanistan is really lacking compared to what we have here, so this work is saving lives while building the skills of our colleagues for the future.

“All we need is for medical staff in the UK who are willing to give up a few minutes of their time each week.

“That, plus a smartphone or a computer, can save lives thousands of miles away. The potential for the scheme to expand is huge, helping tens of thousands of people in developing countries across the world.”

  • Any clinical staff interested in finding out more about the project should visit Arian Tele Health and Education for All charity website: www.ariantele-heal.com .