Serious Flaws in BC Health Report -
BC Chiropractors question Health Professions Council own
criteria for core competency
For Immediate Release - March 27, 2001
Vancouver - BC's Chiropractors say that the recent report from the Health Professions Council (HPC) fails to meet the council's own criteria for core competency.
"Core competency means the actual training and education given to individuals studying to qualify as regulated health professionals," says Dr. Don Nixdorf, executive director for the BC College of Chiropractors.
"Our main concern is about effective treatment and patient safety, and that means regulated health professionals -such as medical doctors, chiropractors, podiatrists, and nurses- must have the educational qualifications required to provide specific treatment."
"The HPC requires that regulated health professionals demonstrate specific core educational competence in patient care. How can they now recommend that patient care be provided by regulated health professionals with little or no demonstrated core educational competence in that patient care?"
HPC chair Irvine Epstein cited Ontario as being regulated by a single health act instead of separate acts for each profession. "What Mr. Epstein failed to point out is that at the outset, the Ontario process did not even question restricting regulated treatment procedures to those who can demonstrate a core educational competence," Nixdorf says.
Mr. Epstein says that he expects professional groups will make dire predictions about the consequences of changing the current system. "He's absolutely right," says Dr. Nixdorf.
"We will thoroughly review the report, the recommendations … and we will assess the reasons for these recommendations. We will support the elements that are in the public interest, and will identify the recommendations that do not comply with the Council's own mandate and terms of reference."
The BC College of Chiropractors determines the standards of chiropractic health services and provides information to both the public and chiropractic doctors. The College also monitors the licensing, conduct and competence of the more than 750 licensed chiropractors practicing in British Columbia.
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MEDIA CONTACT: Margo Bates, Margo Bates Publicity Inc. at 604-536-9501. Fax: 604-536-9506 or E-mail:mbpr@istar.ca.
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