St. John of God College of Health formerly Physiotherapy and Orthotics Training School is a non-profit government assisted Christian Health Training Institution established in September 2009 at the St. John of God Hospital at Duayaw Nkwanta in the Tano North Municipality of the Ahafo Region by the Goaso Catholic Diocese in collaboration with the Ministry of Health. The college is a member of Christian Health Association of Ghana (CHAG).
St. John of God Hospital is noted for its specialization in Orthopaedics, Physiotherapy, Prosthetics and Orthotics among others. By these specialized areas, the hospital takes delivery of many referral cases from all over Ghana and the neighboring countries. Due to the numerous referral cases, the hospital realized the need to train staff from sister hospitals in basic principles of Physiotherapy and Orthotics. Management of the hospital therefore started a six-month Physiotherapy and Orthotics programme for other sister hospitals to help prevent disabilities mostly caused by traumatic injuries and Buruli Ulcer which is endemic in the region. At the pilot stage, thirty-One (31) workers from various health institutions were trained.
Due to the uniqueness of the programme, in September 2009, the Ministry of Health (MOH) gave approval to start a 2-year certificate programme in Physiotherapy and Orthotics, giving birth to the Physiotherapy and Orthotics Training School. The programme commenced with thirty-seven (37) students. Four batches of Physiotherapy and Orthotics Assistants totaling two hundred and four (204) in number graduated from the certificate programme between 2011 and 2014.
In the year 2013, the school obtained approval from the Allied Health Professions Council of the Ministry of Health to upgrade the programme to DIPLOMA status. This necessitated that the college affiliate to a chartered university for mentorship and award of diplomas. Hence, in August 2014 the college entered into Academic Collaboration and Affiliation with Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST).
The first batch of sixty (60) students were admitted in August 2013 to undergo the three-year diploma in physiotherapy programme. Six batches of students totaling four hundred and five (405) have successfully graduated with Diploma in Physiotherapy between 2016 and 2021. In January 2018, the college commenced a one-year Top-up programme for Physiotherapy Assistant certificate holders to upgrade them to Diploma status. Two batches comprising sixty-two (62) in 2019 and thirty-seven (37) in 2020 have successfully graduated from the top-up programme, with the third batch to commence in January 2022. The name of the school was subsequently changed to St. John of God College of Health in July 2017 to reflect the present vision and mission of the college.
In 2019, the college received approval of the Allied Health Professions Council, Ministry of Health to start a Trauma and Orthopaedic Technician diploma programme, with support from the Swiss-based Arbeitgemeinschaft feur Osteosynthesis (AO) Alliance Foundation through the Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons (GCPS) to help address the huge trauma burden in the country. The first batch of 17 Trauma and Orthopaedic Technician students were admitted in September, 2019.
The philosophy of the college is to produce highly motivated and competent health personnel to continue Christ’s healing ministry, emphasizing the need for quality, accessible and affordable health for the disabled, aged, poor and marginalized in society. Being the only institution that awards diploma in Physiotherapy and Trauma and Orthopaedic in the country, the college has over the years ensured the decentralization of these essential services to the district and sub-district levels and the positive feedback from the various health institutions nationwide on the competency of our products is something that the college holds in a high esteem. The college thrives on its uniqueness, disciplined staff and students and excellent academic performance and has over the years achieved significant successes in all internal and external examinations.
Since the expiration of its last strategic plan, the college put together a team to develop a new strategic plan. Whiles in the process, the Christian Health Association of Ghana (CHAG) in collaboration with the Organizational Development Institute (ODI) and with support from the World Health Organization (WHO) organized a training workshop for all CHAG health institutions to assist them in developing strategic plans. The college therefore took advantage of this opportunity to develop this new plan to guide the strategic direction of the institution for the next five years spanning January 2022 to December 2026.
The platform for change is upon us; driving the need to think strategically about our future. Our strategic plan recognizes our previous shortcomings and builds on past achievements; it recognizes that we are part of a broader health training system and must collaborate with essential stakeholders to provide quality health education. Our plan sets the stage for St. John of God College of Health to take bold, focused and deliberate action to shape teaching and learning in the college. This plan is not an end in itself. Strategic planning is an iterative process and this plan will be reviewed periodically to meet emerging challenges and ambitions. As we start this new cycle, we look forward to a very positive teaching and learning in the school. It is our fervent hope that this plan will serve as the foundation for improving integrated, holistic and quality health services in the country as we strive to produce the essential health human resource to support the Ministry of Health’s objective of ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being for all at all ages.
