MoPH, UG in talks for Master’s in Speech Therapy

Rehabilitation services in Guyana will soon be taken to new heights with a cadre of professionals to aid those in need of help.

Subject Minister Volda Lawrence has announced that the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) has been in discussions with the University of Guyana to offer a Master’s Degree in Speech Therapy, the Department of Public Information (DPI) has stated.
“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.
She made the announcement on Sunday, 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.”
According to Minister Lawrence, the programme will be two-fold, as she pointed out that upon completion of their Master’s, persons “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 was also in discussions with officials from the United Kingdom to have staff from the Ministry attend specialised institutions in Britain for six-month periods. The training will allow those persons to expand their knowledge while familiarising themselves with special techniques and equipment available.
Minister Lawrence noted that rehabilitation was on an upward trajectory in Guyana, and gave the assurance that Government would continue to place emphasis on the development of the rehabilitation 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 10 regions,” Lawrence noted.
Additionally, it was highlighted that there was the need to strengthen the capacity of the health sector by focusing on delivery and services – delivering quality, effective and responsive disability and rehabilitation services.
It is the expectation, the Minister said, 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, which started back in 2003, 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 would be placed into two groups to conduct rehabilitation services. One group will head to five nursery schools in Wakenaam in a quest to identify children with special needs. A similar exercise will be carried out along the Linden-Soesdyke Highway by the second team.
A series of other activities are also scheduled in observance of Rehab Week.