WRHA decides on criteria for in-clinic physio, occupational therapy
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 16/10/2017 (2354 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
The Winnipeg Regional Health Authority has settled on the criteria by which a patient can still access free outpatient physiotherapy and occupational therapy services.
Current programs at Concordia Hospital, Deer Lodge Centre, Grace Hospital, Misericordia Health Centre, St. Boniface Hospital, Seven Oaks Hospital and Victoria Hospital are expected to close in the next month or so, leaving just Health Sciences Centre available for select patients.
Originally the WRHA planned to use a means test to determine who would still have access and who would need to seek private services. However, that was scrapped after outcry from staff, patients, and health-care experts alike.
Soon, public access will be reserved for those who meet the new criteria, including ligament transfers, repairs and reconstructions, complex spinal injuries, hand or wrist joint arthroplasty and more.
“Our goal is to ensure that those most in need, (for whom) the service is essential, that they’re going to receive it in a timely way,” said Krista Williams, the authority’s chief health operations officer.
Williams said the criteria were decided in conjunction with staff with expertise in the field and stressed that there will be an appeals board so that people who feel they’ve been unfairly cut off from the service can argue their cases.
Under the new system, she said how people are grouped — priority or non-priority — will shift slightly. Right now, someone with a sprained ankle could be considered priority if it happened within the last few weeks, but the WRHA is attempting to move away from simple cases and towards more “complex patients.”
“In the new clinical criteria,” Williams said, “we’re focusing on if it’s a sprain that did damage to your tendon or ligament, anything like that that’s very complicated.”
The news that the clinical criteria had been settled on came as a surprise to Bob Moroz, president of the Manitoba Association of Health Care Professionals, which represents the majority of Winnipeg outpatient physiotherapists and occupational therapists.
Moroz declined further comment, saying he needs to consult with his members.
Although the WRHA decided on the clinical criteria following a review of two years’ worth of patient referrals, Williams said the authority still plans to track the transition to the new outpatient system.
“We’re going to monitor it closely because there are various things that can change,” she said.
jane.gerster@freepress.mb.ca