A Cerebral Palsy (CP) parent support group in Ghana has expressed worrying concerns about the health care delivery system in Ghana.
The parents sharing experiences at an introductory meeting said they felt very frustrated with health care in Ghana and urged to government to do something to rectify the situation urgently.
Mrs Eugenia Tevie, a mother of a child with cerebral palsy recounted her frustrations to the group saying that the hospital environment was not even encouraging parents to take their children for treatment, with the consequence that many were resorting to using spiritual or herbal alternatives.
She said: “At most physiotherapy centres it is one size fit all equipment, whether your child is tall or short, plump or skinny, they tie her in the same standing frame for all children accessing the services.”
Mrs Tevie expressed the need for improvement in the provision of health care services for CP children and called on authorities to train mothers with CP children in basic physiotherapy and speech therapy skills since they spend most of their time with the children.
Mrs Hannah Awadzi, founder of the Special Mothers Project, a project advocating for children with CP and also a mother of a child with CP, reiterated the need for parents to be trained in these basic skills.
“There are very few professionals in that area in Ghana providing services for a large number of patients, I think involving mothers in basic physiotherapy and speech therapy training will go a long way to support these children,” she said
Mrs Awadzi who also bemoaned the health care delivery system said sometimes parents of a child with CP are really made to feel like victims:
“Woe betide you if your child gets sick in the wee hours of the day, some nurses and doctors really make you feel you are a bother,” she said while calling on the Ministry of health to do something about the health care system.
Nana Akua Owusu, a Speech Therapist who joined the meeting, admitted that there were lapses in the health care system and urged parents to be united and articulate their concerns to government.
She expressed the wish for a one-stop service centre in Ghana where parents will get all the help they need.
