The 15-month online training programme included theoretical knowledge as well as practical demonstration and training in using tools and equipment.
Doha: The Speech Therapy Department at the Qatar Rehabilitation Institute (QRI) has successfully concluded a speech therapy training programme with healthcare professionals based in the Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Hospital for Rehabilitation in Gaza.
The goal of this programme was to upskill local Palestinian clinicians in providing more up-to-date diagnosis and treatment for children with dysphagia and thereby provide better health and quality of life to these children.
Dysphagia in paediatrics refers to problems related to feeding and swallowing that are brought on by disease, illness, or congenital defects at birth. Some of the most common causes of paediatric dysphagia include prematurity, developmental delays, cleft lip or cleft palate, brain injury, cerebral palsy, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD).
The Pediatric Dysphagia Clinic at QRI has developed a service based on international best practices in treating such disorders.
The training team involved in providing the free online training included experts from QRI’s paediatric dysphagia clinic who worked on developing the comprehensive course materials. Five Speech Therapists were involved in the 15-month training programme that was delivered online and included theoretical knowledge as well as practical demonstration and training in using the donated tools and equipment. In addition, six speech therapists from HMC in Qatar also joined this training to take this opportunity to build their competency and sharpen their clinical skills in this specialised area.
Eman Yousef Al Mulla, Chief of Speech Therapy Department at HMC, explained the challenges of providing this training to healthcare professionals who are working in the besieged Gaza Strip. “While Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Hospital has some equipment, they did not have all appropriate tools and materials needed for therapies in their clinics and we applied creative thinking to help the Gaza-based team develop tools using local resources. Additional tools and equipment were donated by HMC’s Speech Therapy Department, which was welcomed by colleagues in Sheikh Hamad Hospital.”
“It was not easy for our colleagues in Gaza, having to deal with multiple power outages that interrupted the Internet connectivity needed for the online training. Moreover, we all had to deal with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic that impacted how we could work. We also had to adapt the training to be delivered completely online without the usual benefit of practical face-to-face sessions. But I am pleased with how well we adapted the training programme to deal with these handicaps and the success of the programme to date,” said Al Mulla.
