The preschool speech therapy program and the Newborn Hearing Screening and Early Intervention Program, which provide services for newborns through kindergarten, are the services affected. In 2021, the health unit says it offered these services to 466 children.
This decision was not taken lightly. We will ensure that families who need these programs receive the support they need during this time of change.
said in a press release the chief medical officer of the BSPDr. Lianne Catton, last Wednesday.
The organization says it wants to focus more meet the requirements of the Ontario Public Health Standards, with which public health units must comply
.
Dr. Catton says the health unit wants CTETC to minimize disruption to services to clients and families”,”text”:”facilitate the transfer of programs as much as possible and will do whatever it takes to assist the Ministry and CTETC to minimize disruption services offered to clients and families”}}”>facilitate the transfer of programs as much as possible and will do whatever it takes to help the department and the CTETC to minimize disruption to client and family services.
The BSP assures that it will support families currently receiving services as well as those on the waiting list during the transition period and communicate directly with all families
when he has more information to share.
Once the transfer of services is completed on October 1, the children in the program Healthy Babies, Healthy Children from BSP requiring speech therapy services will be referred to the CTETC and other community programs and services.
Maintain service level
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services said in an email that, like the programs, the provincial funding that goes to the BSP for the delivery of services under the Speech and Language Rehabilitation Services Program for Preschool Children CTETCwhich will be the new lead agency in the Timmins and Cochrane area”,”text”:”will transfer to CTETC, which will be the new lead agency in the Timmins and Cochrane area”}}”>will be transferred to CTETCwhich will be the new lead agency in the Timmins and Cochrane area.
The BSP confirmed on Monday that speech therapist positions funded by that money will be cut as a result of the transfer.
It is still uncertain whether those who will be unemployed will find employment with the CTETC.
A speech therapist from BSPRobin Clément, expressed his dissatisfaction last Wednesday on his Facebook page.
–
I can’t explain how heartbroken and disappointed and frustrated I am with this decision.
can we read there.
In the past, the CTETC was working with the health unit to deliver some elements of both programs to some children with complex needs.
The Executive Director of the Cochrane Temiskaming Children’s Treatment Centre, Marie Rouleau, finds it important to maintain speech therapy services in the region.
Photo: Radio-Canada / Screen capture
—
Once we have more details on the clientele and the volume [de clients]we will take time to assess the resources we currently have and determine what we need to increase to meet the demand
explains the director general of the center, Marie Rouleau.
Ms. Rouleau also assures that the center aims to, where possible, minimize or eliminate family travel to obtain these services
.
difficult circumstances
Gabrielle Dupuis speech therapist at the private clinic Bright Spot in Timmins, is concerned about the snowball effect
that such a transfer could have on the development of children on the waiting list, which is currently 3 to 4 months, in addition to the impact on the availability of jobs.
« Oral language development is the basis for writing and reading. If there are already developmental delays in speaking, it will just snowball over time. »
There are only two speech-language pathology programs in Ontario and we are already having a lot of trouble finding learning opportunities for students. If there are even fewer speech-language pathologists, there will be fewer learning and placement opportunities for speech-language pathology students
she believes.
–
According to Gabrielle Dupuis, speech therapy treatments should begin at the age of 18 months.
Photo: Radio-Canada / Screen capture
—
In Northern Ontario, several factors make it difficult to obtain services that meet specific needs. In particular, the majority of families prefer to go through public services rather than private clinics.
It may be more expensive depending on the benefits. But the waiting list is much shorter [au privé]
she continues.
The speech therapist also indicates that the region has several bilingual professionals. They often have to be creative in order to offer adapted services due to the lack of French-language material.
French in the North is a different French than that in Quebec or France
believes Ms. Dupuis.
With information from Aya Dufour
–
