Letter to Government: M. McIlwaine, Physiotherapy, BC Children's Hospital

October 30th 2009

Premier Gordon Campbell,
Honorable Mary Polak, Minister of Children and Family Development,
Lesley Du Toit, Deputy Minister of Children and Family Development,

Dear Premier Campbell, Honorable Minister and Deputy Minister

It is with regret that I learned of the proposed closure of the office of the Provincial Advisor of the Infant Development Program of BC. I am presently the Professional Practice Leader of Physiotherapy at BC Children’s Hospital working with acutely ill children and infants, In this role, I liaise with our community partners to provide on-going quality care in the community following discharge. The Infant development Program is one of our community partners, their provincial wide Program ensures timely and quality interventions to the very youngest of our population. Approximately 80 % of infants assessed by Physiotherapists at BC Children’s Hospital are referred to IDP for continuation of care. These patients are usually the high risk infant who may have been born prematurely, or required cardiac surgery, or those with have developmental problems.

The Office of the IDP Provincial Advisor provides leadership to the IDP consultants throughout the province, ensuring they have the educational training needed to perform developmental standardized tests and effective interventions. Since the IDP consultants are not affiliated with a Health College, the Provincial Office has established Standards of Practice and provides quality assurance activities on a regular basis to ensure consistency and quality of care for infants under their care. At BC Children’s Hospital, we have worked closely with the Provincial Office of IDP collaborating on educational and research activities. Without the Provincial Office, I fear the quality of care for infants receiving infant development will decline, since there is no leadership to support the IDP training needs. I thus urge you to reconsider the decision to close the office of the Provincial Advisor of the Infant Development Program.

Sincerely yours


Maggie McIlwaine
Professional Practice Leader, Physiotherapy
Children and Women's Hospital