Implementation Of The Rehabilitation Services Plan

The Rehabilitation Services Plan (RSP) was released by the Department of Health and Wellness in 1994 to create "a coordinated, regionalized network of facility and community-based rehabilitation services to meet the needs of New Brunswickers." This new approach to the delivery of rehabilitation services was designed to:

• ensure the appropriate distribution of rehabilitation resources across the province;
• improve the client's ability to access rehabilitation services;
• coordinate the delivery of rehabilitation services;
• establish the necessary supports for continued program development;
• and emphasize outcomes.

Strategies contained within the RSP were directed toward audiologists, occupational therapists, physiotherapists and speech language pathologists in the institutional and community settings. Specifically, the RSP targeted two major sectors:

• the hospital outpatient rehabilitation services and
• the community-based rehabilitation services provided by the Extra-Mural Program (Provincial home/community health care program).

Several key strategies outlined in the RSP were selected for implementation in 1997, including:

• Provincial allocation/distribution of rehabilitation positions;
• Consolidation of community-based rehabilitation professionals under the management of the Extra-Mural Program;
• Development of process for consistent priorization of clients referred for rehabilitation service;
• Development of provincial service delivery guidelines;
• Design of the RSP Monitoring System, and
• Series of regional education and information sessions.