Consulation service is available 24 hour/day and is based at BC Children's for diagnosis and management of proven or suspect Cystic Fibrosis patients. Patients are referred from community or hospital-based pediatric services throughout BC.
Inpatient diagnosis and management of Cystic Fibrosis patients from throughout BC are supervised at BC Children's Hospital. Because of the specialized nature of much of Cystic Fibrosis care, when hospital admission is required, the majority of Cystic Fibrosis patients are hospitalized at BC Children's. However, where applicable, telephone advice and supervision of inpatient management are provided for patients in other hospitals across the province.
There is continuing Ambulatory diagnosis and management services for suspected or proven Cystic Fibrosis patients from throughout BC. These patients are seen at the Cystic Fibrosis Clinic at BC Children's. They may be referred directly to the Clinic by their local physician or seen as follow-up after consultation at BC Children's or at the Cystic Fibrosis Clinic.
The Home IV and Home Therapy team supervise Cystic Fibrosis patients with an exacerbation of their lung disease who do not require hospital admission. Supervision and monitoring by the Cystic Fibrosis management team is essential to optimize the results of such therapy. At present, adequate home therapy is not widely available in the province, but when possible and when indicated for the specific patient, this offers a cost-effective approach to therapy provided Cystic Fibrosis clinic staff is available to ensure quality of care is not compromised.
Certain Cystic Fibrosis patients (e.g. those receiving therapy for Cystic Fibrosis liver disease) require at-home monitoring which enables children to receive essential continued close monitoring of their condition by the specialized Cystic Fibrosis Clinic team while minimizing travel to Vancouver.
Outreach clinics enable suspect or proven Cystic Fibrosis patients to be evaluated by Cystic Fibrosis Clinic personnel in their home region. Outreach clinics are held yearly in Prince George and twice yearly in Kamloops, and are planned for Kelowna. These require attendance of Cystic Fibrosis Clinic physician, nurse and physiotherapist at the Outreach site, with secretarial support provided in Vancouver.