(Yellowknife, July 10, 2023) – Due to limited staffing capacity, in-school Speech-Language Pathology (SLP) and Occupational Therapy (OT) programing delivered by the Northwest Territories Health and Social Services Authority (NTHSSA) are being reduced during the 2023/24 school year. Additionally, travel clinics for SLP and OT to the Kitikmeot region of Nunavut will be suspended for the same period of time.

The OT and SLP programs will continue to support children and families via regular in-clinic services, as well as through other child development teams, providing direct assessment to clients, and follow up for children with complex needs. Virtual care options will also continue where possible based on NTHSSA staffing levels, focusing on Junior kindergarten and kindergarten, to maintain connections with students and school staff. Continuation of service-prioritization in these areas and reduction of Nunavut travel clinics will also allow community-based travel clinics in the NWT to continue with the goal of maintaining access for NWT residents to these services as close to home as possible.

In-school SLP and OT consultative services will be maintained for students with priority needs. These include:

• Students under the age of 5; and
• Students 6-17 years old where:
  • (SLP referrals) A student is demonstrating a severe communication delay/disorder; and/or
  • (OT referrals) A student is at risk of injuring themselves or others, feeding difficulties, toileting difficulties, mobility, seating and accessibility, and provision of assistive devices.
     

How does the Referral Process work?
There are three pathways for referral: School Referral, Self-Referral and Healthcare professional referral.

• School Referrals are completed when a child is identified as needing SLP or OT services. Schools inform parents that their child is being referred and parental consent is required.
• Self-Referrals are completed by the parents of the child.
• Healthcare professional referrals are completed as determined by the healthcare professional. The healthcare professional informs the family of the referral.

The NTHSSA continues to work to review service delivery to ensure we are best meeting the needs of the population we serve while ensuring limited resources are targeted at those who need them most. In addition to these ongoing service changes, the NTHSSA continues to focus on marketing the NWT as a great place to live and work and undertaking recruitment for all health and social services professionals.

Fast Facts:
NWT Statistics:

• Of the 13 Full Time Equivalent (FTE) SLP positions in the NTHSSA, HRHSSA and TSCA, eight positions are vacant as of August 2023.
• Of the 16 Full Time Equivalent (FTE) OT positions in the NTHSSA, HRHSSA and TCSA, eight will be vacant as of August 2023.
• Current wait times as of May 01, 2023 :

National Statistics:

• For Speech-language Pathologists & Audiologists, over the period 2022-2031, new jobs are expected to total 6,400 , while 6,200 new job seekers are expected to be available to fill them.
• For Occupational Therapists & other professional occupations in therapy and assessment, over the period 2022-2031, new job openings are expected to total 9,100 , while 7,600 new job are expected to be available to fill them.
• The labour shortage conditions seen in recent years is expected to persist into the 2022-2031 period.
• In a job search on a prominent online job seeking platform completed June 19th, 2023 there are 976 Speech Language Pathologist and 1479 Occupational Therapist job postings in Canada. There are 12 SLP Schools in Canada (7 English and 5 French), together they graduate about 400 new SLPs a year. There are 14 OT schools in Canada (9 English and 5 French), together they graduate about 700 new OTs a year.

Related Links:

• Occupational Therapist (OT) in Canada (Statistics Canada)
• Speech Therapist in Canada (Statistics Canada)