18 Yerrace Review — Thursday, November 12;- 1987. ce Physiotherapists a ican roa = _ brief minister In a brief presented to Health Minister Peter Dueck in Prince Rupert recently, Dueck was told that B.C. physiotherapists generally accept proposed changes to the health act and are pleased with his sensitivity to the need for more physiotherapists in the province. by Tod Strachan But the brief also expressed concerns and concluded that the only acceptable long term solu-. tion is increased funding from. _ the Ministry of Education ‘and the Ministry of Health. .The brief was prepared and presented by Karen Skarpnes, president of the Northwest District Physiotherapy Associa- tion. of B.C., and Margaret Dediluke, treasurer of the Association of Physiotherapists . and Massage Practitioners (APMP), in response to pro- posed changes in the health care act which would allow foreign physiotherapists to practice with a lower skill level than currently allowed in the profession. Dueck. was told ‘that. the primary concern of the APMP was the continued. maintenance of quality care for B.C. patients —.a standard: of quality care that B.C. physiotherapists fear miay.be-in jeopardy of deteriora- - tion due to the government’s re- moval of responsibility from the ' APMP to ‘set their own stan- dards for practice. According to the APMP, the government proposed the setting of new standards, to be set and 7 monitored by the Minister, which would attract new 'Physio- -therapists to the province by lowering the standards of prac- tice. . “IF standards are inadvertent- ly lowered, in a hasty attempt to attract sufficient numbers of physiotherapists to fill the vacancies, we feel that there is danger that the level of health care may deteriorate,’? Dueck was told, ‘—In matters of medical diagnosis and treatment, we feel that professionals are the people -best qualified to set the stan- dards for safe and acceptable levels of care... by continuing to demand high standards, through the licensing: and regulation of physiotherapists, the public is protected, and assured of quali- : ty care,”’ the brief stated. However, .the brief. pointed out that under the new legisla- tion, ‘‘the diversity of profes- sional training’ would increase - with the number of new ap- plicants, and ‘‘the financial burden for the adjudication pro- cess. will greatly increase, and fall onto the volunteer licensing body’’, Dueck. was told that the | APMP feels the first step to solving the physiotherapist shortage in the province is to facilitate re-entry physiotherapists who have been out of the workforce. They explained that a re-entry . fj project is being developed to at- tract physiotherapists to rural and northern areas. | The brief conceded that allow-_. . ing foreign-trained physiothera- pists to practice in B.C. could solve manpower shortages in the province: but emphasized their concern that only foreign ap- plicants who met ‘‘the province’s high standards’’ should be allowed to practice. It was pointed out to Dueck that the northern part of the province has along history of . ° , physiotherapist shortages and that many practitioners must carry out procedures and treatments alone, without any consultation with other physio- therapists. ‘Hence, the need for highly skilled professionals in these . continued on page 24 | 3 Wednesday is SHI RT DAY Men’s business shirts or Ladies’ cotton blend dress shirts expertly laundered — TWO LOCATIONS TO SERVE YOU BETTER!! 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