Accra, Feb 10, GNA – The Speech Therapists and Audiologists Association of Ghana (STAAG), has called for Audiology, Speech and Language Therapy facilities in Ghana’s hospitals.
It said, setting up these facilities would offer its members the opportunity to contribute to quality healthcare service delivery.
Speaking at an induction ceremony for newly elected executives of STAAG in Accra, Major Emmanuel Deladem Nkornoo, President of the association said, STAAG had members who would readily fill vacancies in the facilities.
Their essential services include as newborn hearing and vestibular assessments and rehabilitation; autism evaluation and management. Others are speech-language assessment and speech delays among.
He said, about 55 percent of speech and audiology therapists were unemployed since graduating in 2020.
Major Nkornoo said STAAG was prepared to dialogue with industry stakeholders and partners to help the government, through the Ministry of Health (MoH), and GHS in providing the necessary infrastructure for Audiological, Speech and Language Therapy Practice centres across the country.
He also appealed for tax waivers on the importation of hearing aids, saying: “this will help the average Ghanaian afford hearing aids that come at a high cost.”
“The average cost of hearing aids in Ghana ranges from GHc8,000 to Ghc40,000,” he added.
Major Nkornoo pledged STAAG’s commitment in helping the government realise its plans of setting up the Postgraduate College of Allied Health. That, he noted, would facilitate the specialisations in the area of Allied Health.
“Together with the Ghana Federation of Allied Health Professionals, STAAG will continue to pursue this till its realisation,” he said.
Madam Nana Abena Asoh Owusu-Omenyo, a magistrate at the Kaneshie District court,
who administered the oath of induction, admonished the seven-member executives to uphold the tenets of the profession, and abide by the rules governing the association.
For his part, Mr Lawrence Odartey Lawson, a Deputy Human Resource Manager at the MoH, urged the executives to share relevant statistics to aid decision-making.
He expressed hope that the government would turn things around, and give financial clearance for recruitment to the health sector.
The executives, who have been given a two-year mandate are led by Major Emmanuel Deladem Nkornoo, with Emma Adelaide Yirenkyi serving as Vice President.
The rest are Catherine Hammond, General Secretary; Fionuala Akua Abrafi Ammah, Assistant Secretary; Deborah Naa Ayerkor Lamptey, Financial Secretary; Aklika Francis Kwami, Organizing Secretary; and Desmond Lamptey, Public Relations Officer.
GNA