Shortage of speech therapists causes difficulties

The director of the pediatric assessment center in the Conde de São Januário Central Hospital, Tai Wa Hou, voiced his concern about the city’s shortage of speech therapists.
During a TDM radio program yesterday, Tai informed the audience that there are only 26 speech therapists in Macau.
This figure is lower than that of physiotherapists and occupational therapists, which number 120 and 80, respectively.
While the center is able to shorten the time each child gets for an evaluation, the lack of speech therapists has caused difficulties when diagnosing treatment in a timely fashion.
The Education and Youth Affairs Bureau (DSEJ) is providing subsidies to encourage local students to pursue a degree in speech therapy. Moreover, the Macao Polytechnic Institute will offer courses in the field starting next year.
According to Tai, the government has reached agreements with three therapists’ associations that allow recovery organizations and educational institutes to hire therapists from other regions. However, due to language restrictions, such professionals must be from Hong Kong and the mainland.