The Training Facilitates Access to Health Services For Persons With Disabilities In Saint Lucia
The Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) and the National Council of and for Persons with Disabilities (NCPD) in Saint Lucia, with support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), in May concluded a training session on the production of basic prosthetic limbs.
The training provided capacity building for income generation among the participants, while also enhancing quality of life of persons with disabilities through the provision of prosthetic limbs. Trainees will be earning a living by making limbs for sale.
Prosthetic limbs are vital to many citizens, including people who have been confronted with an unavoidable amputation. However, patients are often required to seek health assistance overseas which represented a major financial obstacle.
The two-week workshop was funded by the UNDP in collaboration with the OECS Commission and hosted at the NCPD Rehabilitation and Repairs Centre in Vieux Fort under the coordination of NCPD’s prosthetic technician, Andrew Collymore. The medical specialist completed certification in Prosthetic Limb and Caliper Fabrication at the MUKTI Artificial Limb Centre in India.
Dr. Grace-Ann Cornwall, Head of the Social Development Unit, and Sharon Jacob, Administrative Assistant, represented the OECS Commission at the event organised for the closure of the training session.
The workshop enabled seven participants to manage the production process of basic prosthetic limbs and learn technical and professional terminologies related to that particular medical area. Participants were grateful for the training which now provides them with an opportunity for self-employment as they are now able to respond to a critical need within the local market.
All participants were presented certificates attesting the successful completion of the programme.¤
