Plans are afoot to establish 11 more outreach service centers (OSCs) of the All India Institute of Speech and Hearing (AIISH).
Rajesh Bhushan, Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, said the emphasis on “reaching the unreached” began at AIISH in January, 2008 with the launch of its first two OSCs. In the following years, the OSC activity was extended to 11 more centres in collaboration with State government hospitals/NGOs. All the 13 OSCs are successfully providing clinical services, including screening, diagnostic testing and management for individuals with speech, language and hearing disorders.
He said the management of these communication disorders includes provision of hearing aids (free of cost) and speech and language therapy for both children as well as adults. However, all these OSCs were restricted to Karnataka. Since the concept of initiation of OSC in collaboration with government hospitals/NGOs has been successful in reaching out to the individuals with communication disorders, it is therefore planned to expand such services to other unreached areas of the country.
Establishing eleven more OSCs are in the pipeline. The Institute has already signed MoU with 11 hospitals/institutions across the country to open new outreach service centres, he said.
