WRHA restores some free therapy, but criteria unclear

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This article was published 04/10/2017 (3094 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Manitobans released from hospital who most need outpatient occupational therapy and physiotherapy services will continue to receive them for free.

Krista Williams, the WRHA’s chief health operations officer for hospitals, acute care programs, and access and transition, confirmed on Wednesday that the plan announced in July to use a “means test” to see which adult patients should go to private-practice OT and PT providers, instead of publicly funded hospital therapists at the Health Sciences Centre, has been scrapped in favour of using “a clinical criteria”.

Williams said the change was made after the WRHA received feedback from patients, community members, therapists, and surgeons.

“We felt with this input we would take a new approach, clinically driven,” she said.

“We want to establish eligibility based on clinical criteria. Patients meeting it would receive outpatient services free of charge at HSC. Patients who do not would be referred to private options.”

Williams said because some people might not agree with being sent to private-practice providers, the WRHA will set up an appeal process.

She said the WRHA will be “closely monitoring the impact of the changes”.

Williams said the criteria for who stays with hospital therapists or not is still being set up and the WRHA will make it public when it is complete.

“We’re looking at the high priority patients… those who would most benefit from it,” she said.

“We will not be providing the extent of the services we do now.”

But while Bob Moroz, president of the Manitoba Association of Healthcare Professionals, which represents 3,900 members including therapists, pharmacists and dietitians, said he is pleased the WRHA is making changes, he is still worried.

“We don’t know yet what conditions will be listed and which won’t,” Moroz said.

“I’m a little skeptical it will change much. I fear it will be a deletion of services under a different name.

“It sounds like it will be more than originally planned, but we don’t know how many therapists are going to be required. There’s no way the current HSC therapists can handle any more without increasing staff.”

Moroz also expressed sarcasm about the WRHA having an appeal process built into the system.

“I look forward to begging so my mother and father can continue to receive therapy,” he said.

“In my view, that is wrong.”

The union is planning a rally for patient services to be held at the Legislature on Oct. 12, starting at 3:30 p.m.

Last July, the WRHA announced out-patients physiotherapy and occupational therapy services would be shuttered at all the region’s hospitals except for the HSC. The services unaffected by the change, and which would continue at the HSC, included services for children as well as former patients who were stroke patients and amputees, or needing neuro or specialized hand therapy.

The WRHA still has not set a date for the consolidation of these out-patient services at HSC, but expects to make an announcement in the near future.

kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca