In Spring 2020, expert MAITS volunteer and speech and language therapist (SLT), Jane, was travelled to Ghana to deliver a four month training programme at the University of Ghana Korle-Bu teaching hospital. The programme was 50 Korle-Bu SLTs, from both the first cohort of graduates and the second year of undergraduates. The training focused on strengthening how the SLTs support, assess and manage their patients with disabilities and other complications, as well as incorporating the SLT department into the fabric of the hospital.

During the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, as international borders went into lockdown, Jane returned to the UK. However, this has not stopped her, the Korle-Bu teaching hospital, and the trainees rallying together to continue with the remaining modules in the programme for the last 12 trainees of the course.

Jane has been delivering the training on Zoom over the last three weeks. Jane said that the training will help the SLT team at Korle-Bu “feel equipped to know what to do when presented with a patient and how to proceed with assessment and management.” She went on to say: “I was so relieved that it proved possible to deliver training via Zoom. It has been a learning curve for both sides. As the sessions have progressed, I feel I have got to know the participants better and … they at least feel equipped to know what to do when presented with a patient and how to proceed with assessment and management.”

MAITS is so grateful to Jane and the team at the University of Ghana for their determination in pushing forward with the training and making it happen.

We would love to hear from you if you are looking for online disability training, as part of the MAITS’ COVID-19 Digital Response training. We are also continuing to recruit volunteer disability trainers who would like to share their skills to support people overseas.