- Joined
- Feb 27, 2003
- Messages
- 4,225
- Reaction score
- 143
Deaf children in Bahrain were promised new hope yesterday by Health Minister Dr Nada Haffadh.She promised that a newly re-started cochlear implant programme for deaf children would not only continue, but would be extended to include adults.
Dr Haffadh said that she wanted the Salmaniya Medical Complex ear, nose and throat department to be a centre of excellence in the region.
"This is one of the most successful programmes in the ministry, as it changes the lives of these people. We are giving them a normal life, so it is so successful," she said.
"We will continue the programme for children and for adults, it's their human right to be able to hear and speak."
Dr Haffadh was speaking during a visit to the SMC to see six children who successfully underwent cochlear implant surgery at the hospital last week.
The three-hour operations were performed by SMC Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) consultants Dr Abdulrahman Ghareeb and Dr Ahmed Jamal.
It was supervised by Dr Hussam El Kashalm, who is an associated professor at Michigan University Hospital, US.
The consultants headed an all-Bahraini medical team that performed the operations.
The surgery was performed on four boys and two girls, aged from 18-months to 11 years.
Similar operations were carried out at the hospital on six other children in April.
The Health Ministry provided BD164,000 to the SMC earlier this year to restart the cochlear programme, which was put on hold for two years due to budget restrictions.
There are still around 20 children on the waiting list for cochlear implants and there are many adults needing them.
Dr Haffadh said children on the waiting list would receive cochlear implant surgery and that the next group of operations would be carried out in September.
"It's all about budget. Cochlear implants cost BD12,000 each. We need sponsors to donate cochlear implants," she said,
"We have the expertise and can issue them to whoever has the right to the operation.
"We should also look at prevention, early detection and rehabilitation, plus intervention, as all of these are important to this programme."
Meanwhile, Dr Haffadh said that the Health Ministry would be launching a kidney transplant programme very soon.
She said that the Health Ministry had the expertise, but needed donors before the programme could be launched.
During the visit Dr Haffadh also congratulated the consultants and the team on the successful operations and encouraged them to continue the good work.
Dr Jamal updated Dr Haffadh on the patients' progress and future rehabilitation programmes.
Speaking on the sidelines of the visit Dr Jamal said that an important part of tackling deafness was through health prevention programmes such as pre-marital testing.
He said that between 40 and 60 per cent of deafness in Bahrain was caused by blood-related marriages, with remainder from other causes.
For every 1,000 live births in Bahrain, one child will have profound hearing loss, he said.
Around 10 to 12 children every year will be born with some hearing loss and seven to 10 of them will qualify for a cochlear implant.
One of the children to receive a cochlear implant last week was Salim Abdulrahman, aged four years and 10 months. His mother Ameena Saad Jamal said that the hearing impairment was probably caused by some tablets she took while pregnant.
"I knew he couldn't hear when he was two months old, as I would shut the door, or make a noise and he would not turn his head," said Mrs Jamal, who also has two daughters.
"At first I didn't want him to have the operation, but then I saw the operation on TV and then two or three of my friends' children had the operation last month. When I saw the children turn their heads when I called their name, I was very happy and thought I will do this.
"When I say Salim and he turns his head, I will have a big party."
Another parent who is also excited about her child having a cochlear implant is Eman Ali Ahmed. Her daughter Sara Hisham Brushaid, aged 11, is the oldest child to have a cochlear implant at the SMC.
She said that Sara was born with a hearing impairment, which gradually got worse over time. She goes to a mainstream school and has limited speaking ability, but needed the implant to be able to lead a normal life.
Mrs Ahmed also has a one-year and nine-month-old son who has a hearing impairment.
A cochlear implant is an electronic device that provides hearing sensation to individuals with severe to profound hearing loss, who do not benefit from hearing aids.
By Rebecca Torr
Dr Haffadh said that she wanted the Salmaniya Medical Complex ear, nose and throat department to be a centre of excellence in the region.
"This is one of the most successful programmes in the ministry, as it changes the lives of these people. We are giving them a normal life, so it is so successful," she said.
"We will continue the programme for children and for adults, it's their human right to be able to hear and speak."
Dr Haffadh was speaking during a visit to the SMC to see six children who successfully underwent cochlear implant surgery at the hospital last week.
The three-hour operations were performed by SMC Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) consultants Dr Abdulrahman Ghareeb and Dr Ahmed Jamal.
It was supervised by Dr Hussam El Kashalm, who is an associated professor at Michigan University Hospital, US.
The consultants headed an all-Bahraini medical team that performed the operations.
The surgery was performed on four boys and two girls, aged from 18-months to 11 years.
Similar operations were carried out at the hospital on six other children in April.
The Health Ministry provided BD164,000 to the SMC earlier this year to restart the cochlear programme, which was put on hold for two years due to budget restrictions.
There are still around 20 children on the waiting list for cochlear implants and there are many adults needing them.
Dr Haffadh said children on the waiting list would receive cochlear implant surgery and that the next group of operations would be carried out in September.
"It's all about budget. Cochlear implants cost BD12,000 each. We need sponsors to donate cochlear implants," she said,
"We have the expertise and can issue them to whoever has the right to the operation.
"We should also look at prevention, early detection and rehabilitation, plus intervention, as all of these are important to this programme."
Meanwhile, Dr Haffadh said that the Health Ministry would be launching a kidney transplant programme very soon.
She said that the Health Ministry had the expertise, but needed donors before the programme could be launched.
During the visit Dr Haffadh also congratulated the consultants and the team on the successful operations and encouraged them to continue the good work.
Dr Jamal updated Dr Haffadh on the patients' progress and future rehabilitation programmes.
Speaking on the sidelines of the visit Dr Jamal said that an important part of tackling deafness was through health prevention programmes such as pre-marital testing.
He said that between 40 and 60 per cent of deafness in Bahrain was caused by blood-related marriages, with remainder from other causes.
For every 1,000 live births in Bahrain, one child will have profound hearing loss, he said.
Around 10 to 12 children every year will be born with some hearing loss and seven to 10 of them will qualify for a cochlear implant.
One of the children to receive a cochlear implant last week was Salim Abdulrahman, aged four years and 10 months. His mother Ameena Saad Jamal said that the hearing impairment was probably caused by some tablets she took while pregnant.
"I knew he couldn't hear when he was two months old, as I would shut the door, or make a noise and he would not turn his head," said Mrs Jamal, who also has two daughters.
"At first I didn't want him to have the operation, but then I saw the operation on TV and then two or three of my friends' children had the operation last month. When I saw the children turn their heads when I called their name, I was very happy and thought I will do this.
"When I say Salim and he turns his head, I will have a big party."
Another parent who is also excited about her child having a cochlear implant is Eman Ali Ahmed. Her daughter Sara Hisham Brushaid, aged 11, is the oldest child to have a cochlear implant at the SMC.
She said that Sara was born with a hearing impairment, which gradually got worse over time. She goes to a mainstream school and has limited speaking ability, but needed the implant to be able to lead a normal life.
Mrs Ahmed also has a one-year and nine-month-old son who has a hearing impairment.
A cochlear implant is an electronic device that provides hearing sensation to individuals with severe to profound hearing loss, who do not benefit from hearing aids.
By Rebecca Torr