GIVEN the scarcity of Speech and Language therapists and audiologists in Guyana’s health sector, the Ministry of Health (MoH) is working on promoting the profession and encouraging more individuals to join the field.
This was disclosed by Speech and Language Therapist, Sonia Fredericks, during Health Matters, a programme hosted by Alicia Martin.
“We have started with a lot of advertisements just letting the public know that we are here and the service that we provide,” Fredericks said.
She noted that in order to build a strong foundation, they need more human resources. Guyana currently only has 11 speech and language therapists, with 10 of them serving in Georgetown.
This means that individuals in other regions are left without access to these services, relying solely on rehabilitation assistants.
She explained that the University of Guyana (UG) will soon recommence the two in one Medical Rehabilitation-Bachelor of Sciences in Speech-Language Therapy and Audiology Programme.
“What is great is that from branching off when you finish your studies, you can either practice as an audiologist or as a speech and language therapist but the key thing is that you have both,” Fredericks related.
The programme was designed by the American Speech and Hearing Association.
While some might think that being a speech therapist means only dealing with children, Fredericks said that they deal with adult patients who have suffered from strokes, leaving their speech affected and those who may have swallowing and feeding problems.
“It is a wide field. It is not just with the children; it is adults; it is in the hospital setting and then it is also in the school setting. So, basically because we are limited in our human resources, we have not been able to play that role in the school setting,” Fredericks said.
She related that the Health Ministry would like to expand and introduce speech therapists within schools and throughout the country.
Fredericks further explained that audiology deals with hearing, testing and the treatment of hearing diseases which have special techniques to treat them.
To enroll into UG’s programme, an individual would need five Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) subjects, inclusive of English, Mathematics and one Science subject, with grades one to three passes.
For persons over the age of 26 wishing to register, an entrance exam would need to be written and a score of over 60 per cent would have to be attained.
Meanwhile, those persons already in the health field with MoH training programmes certificates and three years’ experience in the health sector, qualify to enroll for the programme.
