About The School
The School of Biomedical and Allied Health Sciences (SBAS) is one of the new schools formed under the collegiate system of governance adopted by the University of Ghana recently. The school seeks to improve human health through the pursuit of knowledge and innovative scientific research. We are committed to quality training of health professionals, outstanding research, excellent mentorship, effective professional service delivery and international collaboration and partnerships.
Our interdisciplinary faculty, drawn from different backgrounds in biomedical sciences, para-clinical sciences and allied health professions has contributed to advances in critical areas in pre-clinical sciences, audiology, dietetics, dental laboratory sciences, medical laboratory sciences, occupational therapy, physiotherapy and radiography in the sub-region. The School offers a range of postgraduate and undergraduate programs in allied health disciplines and preclinical sciences.
The School is dedicated to maintaining a leading role in medical research, improvement of postgraduate/undergraduate training, promotion of diversity in research and becoming a hub for the training of biomedical and allied health professionals in Africa.
• Establishment:
In 1987, the Ministry of Health (MOH) noted shortage/scarcity of allied health professionals (medical laboratory technicians, and radiographers, physiotherapists and occupational therapists respectively) in Ghana which needed serious consideration. The Ministry also noted the possibility of these unacceptable shortages being compounded further by the rate of retirement of the allied health professionals engaged by the Ministry of Health if measures were not put in place to stop the trend. The MOH sought to rectify this shortage by localizing training through the establishment of a School of Allied Health Sciences to be affiliated to the University of Ghana/University of Ghana Medical School.
A team from the University of Ulm, Germany was tasked by MOH to inspect facilities in the country and advise the Ministry. On completion of its assignment, the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital was identified as the only hospital that was adequately resourced for the establishment of the School without putting up new facilities.
Following this report, Dr. J. D. Otoo, the then Director of Human Resource Development Division of the Ministry of Health approached the then Dean of the University of Ghana Medical School (Professor S. K. Owusu) in August, 1994 with a request for assistance to establish a School of Allied Health Sciences with German support. This led to some discussions by a group of people from the Ministry of Health, the University of Ghana Medical School and the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital. Following these deliberations, a technical team and task forces with specific functions were constituted to come up with modalities for establishing a School to train allied health professionals at the BSc Level in the following disciplines: Physiotherapy, Radiography, Medical Laboratory Sciences, Ophthalmic Technology, Occupational Therapy, Dietetics, Medical Biostatistics, Speech Therapy and Radiotherapy. The justification and objectives for establishing the School were as follows:
1. Training more personnel in the Allied Health Professions locally to address the huge shortage that prevailed in these allied health professions.
2. Helping to reduce training costs incurred in training our students abroad;
3. Providing an avenue for a large number of Ghanaians to be trained locally to a higher level than was possible previously, making them more competent and effective practitioners.
4. Opening a new vista for continuing education for the personnel in the allied health profession, which they would otherwise never have had.
5. Providing an avenue of higher education for post Senior Secondary School (SSS) and post General Certificate of Education ‘A’ level holders.
The inception of the School and commencement of academic work
The School started in 1999 with Prof. E. K Wiredu being appointed in 2000 as the Acting Dean. Academic work commenced in 2001/2002 academic year with 10 students who had completed the Diploma in Medical Laboratory Technology (DMLT) programme with the University of Ghana Medical School. These students were admitted to Level 300 for BSc Medical Laboratory Sciences.
Following the University of Ghana’s decision to adopt the collegiate system of governance, the School of Allied Health Sciences has been joined by the Basic Sciences Unit of the University of Ghana Medical School. This Unit is made up of the Departments of Anatomy, Medical Microbiology, Medical Biochemistry, Haematology, Pathology, Chemical Pathology and Physiology. This led to the formation of a new School of Biomedical and Allied Health Sciences with Rev. Prof. Patrick F. Ayeh-Kumi as the foundation Dean.
Current Status and Projections
The School currently has a student population of six hundred and five (605) pursuing different programmes. Three hundred and fifty six (356) are males and two hundred and forty nine (249) are females. The undergraduate population stands at five hundred and forty (540) and that of the post-graduates stands at sixty five (65). The School has thirteen academic departments namely: Physiotherapy, Radiography, Medical Laboratory Sciences, Occupational Therapy, Dietetics, Radiotherapy, Audiology and Speech Therapy, Anatomy, Physiology, Biochemistry, Microbiology, Haematology and Pathology.