Province is deaf to U of S program plea

The School of Architecture identified in the StarPhoenix article (Oct 11) as being put on hold because of the lack of funds at the U of S is just one example of potential new programs.

In 2010, the U of S developed a proposal for an educational program in occupational therapy but no government funds materialized. In 2013 the U of S went so far as to identify the occupational therapy program as a budget priority. Again, no government resources were forthcoming.

Last year the government decided to commission a labour market study on occupational therapy services. The report highlighted a severe shortage of occupational therapists in Saskatchewan and found that the province needed to increase its pool of occupational therapists by more than a third (130+) just to reach the Canadian level for access to this type of service.

Despite this finding, the government has taken no action to change its current approach of purchasing seats at the University of Alberta, which results in a return rate of approximately 50 per cent or seven graduates a year. Manitoba with a similar population to Saskatchewan trains 50 occupational therapists a year.

One wonders how severe a shortage of personnel any group has to reach in this province before the government takes some kind of remedial action and starts educating its own people. Margaret Tompson, Saskatoon