2022-2023 AGM Q&A Follow Up

The College of Occupational Therapists of British Columbia held its 2022-2023 annual general meeting via Zoom on Thursday, November 16, 2023You can listen to an audio recordingincluding answers to questions the College received in advance of the event.

Responses to questions posed during the virtual AGM are provided below.

“How have the clinical OTs represented in our current board sought to uphold the OT code of ethics principles of Informed Consent and Confidentiality in response to Bill 36 (which doesn’t uphold these principles)?”

As a Board member, my role in upholding the current code of ethics is to ensure that the College has the appropriate resources, including staff, to continue the work of protecting the public.

I support the ongoing work of the College staff to meet the goals identified in the strategic plan, which includes providing practice supports and ensuring a Quality Assurance Program is in place to support OTs who may need additional assistance to demonstrate competent practice.

The College operations under the amalgamated college will have to comply with the requirements of the Health Professions and Occupations Act (HPOA) once it is proclaimed in force; however, we do not see that the HPOA will diminish the importance of informed consent and patient confidentiality which are fundamental requirements for the protection of clients/patients.

– COTBC Board Member

 “You mentioned there would be webinars in the new year. Will these be on competencies content? Or on processes (such as about amalgamation, ACCR)? Thanks!”

Webinars will be provided on the changes to the ACCR, including the eLearning Module developed by the Association of Canadian Occupational Therapy Regulatory Organizations (ACOTRO) to support registrants in implementing the Competencies for Occupational Therapists in Canada. The eLearning module will replace the Professional Performance Quiz in the 2024 ACCR.

Webinars may be provided on amalgamation. Updates are posted to the Amalgamation 2024 section.

“Will it be June 2024 or June 2025 that we must be vaccinated in order to be licensed to practice?” and “How does Bill 36 mention of vaccine requirements relate to the ACCR competencies to be eligible for licensing?”

Thank you for your questions regarding the HPOA. Based on the information available to us at this time, we understand that the HPOA will not be proclaimed in force and take effect until sometime in 2025. The College does not make policy decisions regarding the need for vaccination or impose requirements for it. Any direction for mandatory vaccination falls within the jurisdiction of the Provincial Chief Medical Officer and/or individual employers.

For your reference, please see the 2022-2023 Annual Report.

Name Proposed for New Multi-Profession College

On December 1, 2023, the Ministry of Health posted proposed amendments to the regulations of seven colleges to reflect the proposed name for the new multi-profession regulatory college that will be the result of amalgamating the following colleges effective June 28, 2024:

  • College of Occupational Therapists of BC
  • College of Dietitians of BC
  • College of Optometrists of BC
  • College of Opticians of BC
  • College of Physical Therapists of BC
  • College of Psychologists of BC, and
  • College of Speech and Hearing Health Professionals of BC

The name for the new college being proposed by the Ministry of Health is The College of Health and Care Professionals of BC.

If you choose to, you can submit feedback on the proposed name directly to the Ministry of Health until January 12, 2024, by emailing PROREGADMIN@gov.bc.ca.

The Ministry of Health is responsible for the decision on the college’s name.

As a reminder, the College of Occupational Therapists of BC is being directed by the Ministry of Health to amalgamate with the six other colleges. This amalgamation is part of the Ministry of Health’s multi-year initiative to modernize BC’s health profession regulatory framework. This initiative is informed by the Cayton Report and the 2020 Recommendations of the Steering Committee on Modernization of Health Professional Regulation. More information about the government’s initiative to modernize the provincial health profession regulatory framework is available on the Ministry of Health’s Professional Regulation web page.

Updates about amalgamation will be posted on the COTBC website.

Read FAQs about the name proposed for the new multi-profession college.

2023 AGM: Registration and Call for Questions

COTBC’s 2023 AGM will be held Thursday, November 16, 2023 from 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm.

This year’s AGM will be conducted virtually. Your questions are important to us and given the online format, participants will be able to observe the proceedings, and listen, but will not be able to talk directly to the presenters during the meeting itself.

The following is provided for your reference:

Your questions are important to us. If you wish to submit a question to be answered during the AGM, please email it to info@cotbc.org by November 7, at 5:00 pm, and enter ‘AGM 2023 Question’ in the subject line.

Questions will be themed and where possible, answered during a scheduled Q&A portion of the agenda.

To attend, please register at https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYkcumgrzIuGdTtndfixZn2hd2dAvsrX1uX.

Following the AGM, the College will upload a video of the proceedings to our website.

We hope to see you on Thursday, November 16, 2023 from 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm.

Ministry of Health Announces Actions to Protect People in Respiratory Illness Season

Registrants are encouraged to read the Ministry of Health’s update on the Viral Respiratory Illness (VRI) Season. The news release includes information about vaccines and medical masking.

Key highlights include the following:

  • Medical mask wearing will be required by all health care workers, volunteers, contractors and visitors in patient care areas starting October 3, 2023.
  • Masks are required in health care facilities managed by health authorities and long-term care sites.
  • At this time, the mask mandate does not apply to private clinic settings.

COTBC understands that private health care clinics, such as those commonly used by occupational therapists, are not included in this directive and are not required by the province to adopt medical masking procedures at this time.

Despite this, we encourage registrants to consider the risks to their own client populations, staff and themselves, and to review current information from the Centre for Disease Control to determine the most appropriate measures for infection prevention and control in their practices.

Registrants are reminded to review the Practice Standard for Infection Prevention and Control to support their decision making.

The Minister of Health and the Provincial Health Officer can issue directives and orders to address public safety concerns at any time, including but not limited to a directive in the future to include mandatory medical masking in private practice environments. The College will provide registrants with information as it is confirmed and urges registrants to consult government sources for more details.

If you have any questions regarding this public health directive, contact us at practice@cotbc.org.

Health Regulatory Colleges Release Joint Apology and Commitment to Action Report

Nine BC health profession regulatory colleges, including COTBC, have jointly released a comprehensive progress report outlining Indigenous cultural safety, humility, and anti-racism activities in the two years since signing a Statement of Apology and Commitment to Action.

The release of this Joint Apology and Commitment to Action 2021-2023 Report (PDF) coincides with and recognizes Orange Shirt Day and National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, both on September 30, 2023. This day also marks the one-year anniversary of the ceremony held with 11 BC health profession regulatory colleges to launch the Indigenous Cultural Safety, Humility, and Anti-Racism Standard of Practice.

In the report’s summary, the colleges recognize “that we are at the beginning of a lifelong journey that is personal and professional, individual and collective…. We remain committed to this work, recognizing that we must be persistent in acknowledging and dismantling historic and ongoing Indigenous-specific racism everywhere that it exists.”

Repeal of Public Health Order Requiring all Health Profession Regulatory Colleges to Record Vaccination Status of Registrants

Please note that a previous Order of the Provincial Health Officer (PHO) “to prevent or reduce the risk of the transmission of infection with SARS-CoV-2 by health professionals” has been terminated effective July 14, 2023, as outlined in a July 14 Notice of the Provincial Health Officer.

In accordance with the termination of this order, health profession regulatory colleges are no longer required to record the vaccination status of registrants after July 14, 2023.

This repeal does not affect the requirements of health care employers and post-secondary institutions to collect the vaccination status information of their employees and students.

Separate public health orders remain in place requiring COVID-19 vaccination for health professionals working in residential care and acute care and community care settings.