Health Ministry, UG in talks for Master’s in Speech Therapy

Jun 24, 2019 News

Rehabilitation services in Guyana will soon be taken to new heights with a cadre of professionals to aid those in need of help.
Minister of Public Health Volda Lawrence yesterday announced that the Ministry is in discussion with the University of Guyana to offer a Master’s Degree in Speech Therapy.
“We are currently in talks with the University of Guyana to have them start a Master’s in a speech therapy programme, which will be run with the aid and guidance of the American Speech-Language and Hearing Association,” Minister Lawrence stated.
The Minister made the announcement during a prayer breakfast service at the launch of ‘Rehab Week 2019’ at the Umana Yana. The upcoming week of activities will be observed under the theme ‘Rebuilding lives each day with better awareness, action and accessibility.”

Minister of Public Health Volda Lawrence (DPI photo)

Minister Lawrence said the programme will be two-fold; pointing out that those persons upon completion of their Masters “will then be able to lend support to the University of Guyana in the training of the undergraduate batch of SLT (Speech and Language Therapy) students, thus providing a sustainable way to maintain speech and language services in the health system.”
It was further disclosed that the Minister is also in discussion with officials from the United Kingdom to have staff from the Ministry attend specialised institutions in the UK for six-month periods. The training will allow those persons to expand their knowledge while at the same time familiarising themselves with special techniques and equipment available.
Minister Lawrence noted that rehabilitation is on an upward trajectory in Guyana; and assured that the government will continue to place emphasis on the development of department with more budgetary allocations.
“We know that this investment in rehabilitation will increase human capacity by allowing people with a health condition to achieve and maintain optimal functioning. We want to ensure that we can reach children, our youths and adults in all ten regions”
Additionally, it was highlighted that there is the need to strengthen the capacity of the health sector by focusing on delivery and services. That is, delivering quality, effective and responsive disability and rehabilitation services.
It is the expectation, the Minister said, that persons with disabilities will no longer be hidden from the public, but given the opportunity to benefit from the services offered by the Ministry and have a good life.
Rehab Week started back in 2003 and is observed during the last week of June. The aim is to increase the public’s awareness of the various services and professions that fall under the rehabilitation umbrella of the Public Health Ministry.
Director of Rehabilitation Services, Arianne Mangar disclosed that during ‘Rehab Week 2019’, 100 members of staff will be placed into two groups to conduct rehabilitation services. One group will head to five nursery schools in Wakenaam in a quest to identify any child with special needs. A similar exercise will be carried out on the Linden/Soesdyke Highway by the second team.
A series of other activities are also scheduled to observe rehab week. (DPI)