Comprehensive Rehabilitation Services Assist Needy Amputees

The Comprehensive Rehabilitation Services (CRS), a technologically driven, total physical rehabilitation service provider has developed the Limb Project to seek sponsorship for fund to help provide prosthetic rehabilitation services for under privileged amputees.

The sponsorship from individuals and institutions are targeted at children of school going age and individuals with the capacity to go back to economic activities to help themselves and their families.

Mr Joseph Thompson, the Founder of CSR, told the Ghana News Agency that the overarching objective of the project was to annually solicit funds to treat at least 30 amputees between the ages of three and 50 years.

He said the sponsoring institution or individual may recruit and bring amputees for them to be rehabilitated or task CRS to identify and recruit such amputees that lack the financial capacity to pay for such services.

He said prosthetic rehabilitation services have been available in Ghana, since the 1950’s, when it was introduced by the government to take care of war veterans from the Second World War.

He said the number of people who were in need of the service kept increasing and the materials used for making prosthetic devices have also become more advanced and expensive.

“This has made it expensive for patients to purchase such services,” he added.

Mr Thompson said recent changes in life style and its attendant peripheral vascular diseases like diabetes were leading to more amputations in young adults from the ages of fifty upwards with rampant road traffic accidents, industrial accidents, domestic accidents and snake bites still causing more amputations in individuals.

He said most of these amputees were either people of school going age or people who have the ability to return to economic activities to take care of themselves and their families.

“The sad thing is that after amputation, most people who cannot afford the cost of artificial legs are unable to fit back well into the school system or employment environment due to their challenge,” he added.

He said CRS intends to bring physical rehabilitation services into the patient’s immediate community, right at their doorstep, adding that CRS maintained a high calibre of professionals, who have long service experience in their various professions.

Source: GNA