A huge thank you to Todd Whitcombe for his PG Citizen article Tuesday June 26 clarifying the critical need for physiotherapy and occupational therapy training in the north.
For over 25 years, physiotherapists and OTs in northern BC have been working short staffed to provide services. There is only one training program for PT and OT in the province and it is centred in the urban south at UBC in Vancouver.
Community leaders, advanced education leaders, health care professionals and elected representatives have presented and supported the case for a full academic & clinical northern training program at UNBC to correct this shortage.
In spite of this, the general public remains unable to access appropriate and timely physiotherapy services. Due the present shortage of hospital physiotherapists, there is no followup rehabilitation for current surgical cases such as joint replacements in Northern Health.
The Northern Medical Program producing northern trained physicians has demonstrated that if you train them in the north, they stay in the north. We implore our leaders to once more cooperatively rally together to bring the rehabilitation training program to UNBC as soon as possible.
Elizabeth MacRitchie
Prince George
