Pediatric Occupational Therapy Council

An Introduction to the Paediatric Occupational Therapy Council (POTC) and Recent History of Paediatric Therapy in BC

Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists-British Columbia (CAOT-BC) aims to work with additional advocacy groups. The Paediatric Occupational Therapy Council (POTC), is one such group. The following provides a brief overview and background of the group. Further information may be found on the Therapy BC website or by contacting Susan Stacey, Chair susanstacey@shaw.ca

Purpose: This group aims “to engage all paediatric Occupational Therapists throughout British Columbia”, “provide a provincial voice for paediatric occupational therapy”, “to act as an advisory body to the various government ministries…” and “to identify and communicate to the ministries and governance authorities concerns and emerging issues…”

-Paediatric Occupational Therapy CouncilTerms of Reference.

Historical Background: In 1994 a speech language pathologist (SLP), a physiotherapist (PT) and an occupational therapist (OT) working in paediatric early intervention wrote a paper regarding the difficulty filling positions in this area and the consequential impact on children’s lack of service.

This paper gained attention from the Ministry of Child & Family Development (MCFD) who subsequently hired a Provincial Paediatric Therapy consultant to address issues around paediatric therapy recruitment. A steering committee including two representatives from each profession (OT, PT, SLP) advised the consultant. The Provincial consultant also linked with existing paediatric SLP and PT councils.

Initially focused on Early Intervention, the steering committee grew to include a school age therapist who were able to advocate for the expansion of the Provincial consultants role to address school age therapy as well.

The Paediatric Occupational Therapy Council (POTC) was started a few years later, with the push from members from the Paediatric Directors of OT (including Les Smith) in an effort to get OT voices and issues brought forward from across the Province. The POTC ties with the Provincial consultant and MCFD were minimal at first but have grown since 2005.

Unfortunately, government budget restrictions have dissolved the Provincial Consultant for Paediatric Therapy position. However, the POTC continues addressing issues affecting children served by occupational therapists in BC.

Related Resources: The existing website, www.therapybc.ca began as a database to support employers looking to hire paediatric therapists and was hosted by Sunnyhill Health Centre for Children. It was later managed through MCFD and expanded to included resources to help support and retain paediatric therapists.

With recent budget restrictions the website has been supported once again with the help of Sunnyhill Health Centre, though more focused again on recruitment though educational opportunities frequently are up-dated as well.

Structure: The POTC Executive Council endeavors to include representation from both rural and urban areas, public and private practice, as well as from acute care, rehabilitation, early intervention and school age service. Furthermore, it is structured to maintain representation parallel to the health authorities in BC and thus include representatives from:
-Vancouver Coastal (Susan Bonney & Ingrid Kusnierczyk)

- Northern (Sarah Turner & Anik Provencher)
- Fraser (Kathy Burton & Tamara Van Dyke)

- Interior (Cari Julien & Marie Shabits)
- Vancouver Island (Susan Stacey & Sharon Montgomery)

- Provincial Tertiary Service (Gabrielle Trepanier & Megahn Williams)

A CAOT-BC liason (Les Smith) and government representation from the Ministry of Child & Family Development (MCFD; Shirley Meaning) are also involved in council meetings. 

Council members are volunteers. Additional therapists may be involved in specific working groups based on personal interest.

Current Activities: The council met on June 17, 2013.

• MCFD update included update regarding new government structure (largely unchanged) as well as service maps outlining resources in Infant Development Programs, school therapy, public health, early intervention, etc.
• The Medical Benefits working group is continuing to look at improving timely access to Children’s Medical Equipment Recycling & Loan Service.
• The Autism subcommittee is exploring mentorship programs to support therapists wanting to join the Registry of Autism Service Providers list (http://www.actcommunity.net/registry-of-autism-service-providers.html)
• The At Home Program Review is considering ways of reducing therapist time associated with referrals. Possibility of circulating standardized letters of justification based on (unpublished) At Home Program criteria discussed. Lack of venue an issue (Therapy BC website updates now funded to recruit therapists).
• Upcoming paediatric education opportunities are listed on the Therapy BC website
• Communication- the group discussed ways of improving communication with therapists throughout BC. Currently members provide an update to their regions via email. CAOT-BC resources may provide an additional avenue (e.g. through CAOT-BC blog). Further use of Therapy BC website would be beneficial though funds for this currently limited. 

-Article submitted by Mary Glasgow Brown with information from Susan Stacey and Les Smith