October 29, 2009
Premier Gordon Campbell < Premier@gov.bc.ca >
Honorable Mary Polack, Minister of Children and Family Development Minister.MCF@gov.bc.ca , Lesley Du Toit, Deputy Minister, Children and Family Development MCF.DeputyMinisterOffice@gov.bc.ca
Dear Premier Campbell, Honorable Minister and Deputy Minister,
We are writing to express our concern with the recent decision to close the office of the Provincial Advisor of the Infant Development Program of B.C. We are Pediatric Occupational Therapists with over 30 years of experience between us, working to support the developmental needs of extremely high risk infants who are discharged from the provincial Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at B.C.’s Children and Women’s (C&W) Hospital. The majority of the infants discharged from this acute care centre are referred to Infant Development Programs throughout B.C upon discharge home.
The NICU at C&W primarily cares for extremely medically fragile infants who are at high risk for neurodevelopmental delay. The Neonatal Follow-up Program continues to assess and monitor these infants at regular intervals from 4 months until 4.5 years. Both programs rely heavily on the expertise, knowledge and skills of the IDP programs throughout the province. It is imperative that these IDP consultants have the most up-to-date information and the best training available to be able to support the development of B.C.’s most vulnerable infants. Without their knowledge, experience and trained “eyes”, many infants may fall through the cracks, will not receive the appropriate care and support and may eventually require considerably more intensive treatment. The Office of the IDP Provincial Advisor has provided excellent leadership to ensure the ongoing education needs of the IDP consultants are met. This includes training in the use of standardized tests, resources for developmental intervention and sharing of research related to developmental neurosciences and the implications for effective interventions.
The Neonatal Follow-up clinic relies on well-informed IDP consultants throughout the province to monitor infants and educate families in between clinic visits. An essential component of the success of the Infant Development Program is the direction provided by the provincial office through establishing standards of practice and quality assurance activities such as regular provincial education opportunities, thus ensuring consistency and continuity of care for children throughout the province.
We strongly urge you to reconsider the decision to close the office of the Provincial Advisor of the Infant Development Program. Without the leadership of this office we are very concerned that it will be very difficult to maintain the current high standards of service delivery for meeting the developmental needs of extremely fragile and complex infants and children throughout the province.
Sincerely,
Meghan Steward, BSc OT
Occupational Therapist NICU,
BC Women’s Hospital
4480 Oak Street
Vancouver, B.C., V6H 3V4
Tel: 604.875.2123 x 7172 Fax: 604.875.3220
Email: msteward@cw.bc.ca
Margot MacKay, BScOT
Occupational Therapist
Neonatal Follow-Up Program
BC Women’s Hospital
4480 Oak Street
Vancouver, BC, V6H3V4
Tel:604.875-2345, ext 7506 Fax:604.875-2483
Email: mmackay@cw.bc.ca
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