The Yukon’s alternative health care professionals say they’ve been miscategorized as “personal services” under the territory’s COVID-19 restrictions.

That has forced the indefinite closures of several medical practices, they say.

“The issue is we’re inaccurately represented,” Tana Shepherd told the Star today.

“We’re not necessarily asking to have restrictions lifted on our sector prematurely, we’re asking for accurate representation so we can have profession-specific guidelines that enable us to provide service to Yukoners.”

Shepherd is the chair of Yukon Allied Healthcare Professionals and the owner of Whitehorse Osteopathy.

She represents the Yukon’s registered massage therapists, naturopathic doctors, osteopaths, somatic therapists, acupuncturists, chiropractors, athletic therapists, and physiotherapists.

Under current COVID-19 restrictions, these health care providers are characterized as “personal services” and were ordered to close indefinitely in mid-March.

Shepherd said health care practitioners would like to be placed in a separate category from hair salons and tattoo parlours.

“We recognize the importance of these services as well; however, being characterized similarly misrepresents the critical nature of our services for (the) mental, emotional and physical health of Yukoners,” Shepherd said.

Allied health practitioners say the forced closures of their clinics have “left a critical gap in health care” in the Yukon for treatment of chronic conditions, disease and pain as well as acute accidents, injuries and stress management.

Alternative health practitioners are advocating to be categorized separately and granted representation on the Yukon government’s Business Advisory Council.

Shepherd pointed out that in most Canadian jurisdictions, the health care sectors she represents are included in the Health Care Act and are categorized as primary health care services.

She argued that a lack of regulatory bodies for these professions in the Yukon has led to their mischaracterization as personal services.

Last Wednesday, Dr. Brendan Hanley, the Yukon’s chief medical officer, announced the territory will likely face some restrictions for 12-18 months until a COVID-19 vaccine is available.

Health care professionals are hoping to see a path for safe reopening within that timeline.

“Non-COVID health care concerns in our community do not disappear during a pandemic; prior to this situation, there was already a shortage of allied health care services as practitioners already operated with extensive waitlists,” Shepherd said.

“We want to work in collaboration with the (chief medical officer) to set high and appropriate profession-specific standards and guidelines for controlled and safe return to practice as restrictions on businesses are lifted.”

Shepherd noted that members of the allied health community are growing frustrated as local businesses, such as retail stores and the Better Bodies fitness centre, publicize plans for tentative re-opening this week while their clinics remain under a forced closure order.

Many health care practitioners in the Yukon are now fielding daily emails from patients with chronic disease and pain who are hopeful that services will resume, Shepherd said.

She sent two letters to Ranj Pillai, the minister of Economic Development, on behalf of Yukon Allied Healthcare Professionals on April 10 and on Friday.

In these letters, she requested:

• a seat for a health care representative on the Business Advisory Council;

• targeted financial assistance for health-specific expenses such as insurance and licensing fees; and

• guaranteed monthly income assistance for practitioners ineligible for the wage subsidy program.

Shepherd said she has not yet received a response from Pillai’s office on these requests – though it did confirm receipt of her email.

If a response is not received by the end of the week, Shepherd said, allied health care workers will start gathering patient feedback, potentially in the form of a petition.

Pillai provided the Star with a written statement this morning.

It explained that numerous individuals and organizations have expressed interest in joining the Business Advisory Council since it was established.

The council already has 30 members.

“We value the interest of the local business community in working together to identify issues and find solutions to various sector specific impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Pillai said.

“In the coming days, we plan to announce a new approach to engaging with Yukon’s diverse business sector in a way that effectively incorporates their varied perspectives on how to comprehensively address the economic impacts of COVID-19 and plan for a re-emergence of Yukon’s economy.”