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The Tamale Teaching Hospital (TTH) in partnership with Operation Smile Ghana has established a Speech and Language Therapy Clinic as part of dream project speeches to improve patients’ communication.

The establishment of the Speech and Language Therapy Clinic, funded by Svenska Postkod Lotteriet, was to offer rehabilitation services to restore or improve speech and language outcomes among children with communication and swallowing difficulties.

Dr. Opoku Ware Ampomah, the Operation Smile Ghana Country Director, and also the Chief Executive Officer of Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, speaking during the opening of the clinic in Tamale, said the clinic would be providing care to patients through speech and language clinics, language enrichment education, surgeries to improve speech and mobile clinics.

He indicated that the health care clinic would be assisting children to reach their full potential through high-quality and skilled therapy services.

Mr. Subhi Accad, the Board Chairman of Operation Smile Ghana, said the clinic would assist individuals, who were tracheotomy or ventilator dependent, present with language delay, speech disorders or who had swallowing disorders.

He said the clinic had education components such as speech therapy exercises and necessary follow-up services.

He added that the clinic would also provide services, including a specialised modified barium swallows study, followed by the identification and implementation of compensatory swallowing strategies and diet recommendations.

Dr. Desmond Lamptey, the Speech Therapist at TTH, said the health care services would be providing speech and language therapy in English and the local dialects.

He said the rest included speech sound disorders, feeding and oral motor, parent coaching to use learned communication enhancing strategies, autism, down syndrome, and cerebral palsy, among others.

Dr. John Bertson Eleeza, the Northern Regional Director of Ghana Health Service, whose speech was read on his behalf, said in Ghana, one of the neglected areas of modern healthcare was the area of speech and language therapy.

He said, “Even though many such vulnerable people exist in society, major health system weaknesses remain in our health care delivery system in addressing their needs.”

He expressed appreciation to the organisers for the establishment of the speech and therapy clinic in the region.