Queen Alexandra Centre for Children's Health

Find the services at Queen Alexandra Centre for Children's Health:

Queen Alexandra building - Child youth and family Health - rehab services

• Clinics
• Pediatric Feeding and Swallowing Service (PFSS)
• School Age Therapy Program
• Supported Child Development
• Vancouver Island Children's Assessment Network

Pearkes Building - Child youth and family health, child care and rehab services

• Early Intervention Program

G.R. Pearkes Child Care Services

Every child deserves a safe, welcoming space to learn and grow — regardless of background, ability, or identity. Our program is committed to inclusion ensuring that all families feel supported and valued.

Based on a philosophy of “learning through play” our classrooms provide unique and rich experiences for all children.  Our spacious outdoor playground and nearby beach offer a wonderful opportunity to explore nature just outside our door.

Fully qualified Early Childhood Educators create and provide a variety of activities designed to promote social, emotional, cognitive, physical and creative growth.

We look forward to sharing this exciting new learning experience with your child.

To be added to our waitlist please submit a Waitlist Request form.

Lead Early Childhood Educator
Jessy Qin
250-519-6778 
xiao.qin@islandhealth.ca

Hours for group care

Monday to Friday 7:45 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Closures

One week for winter break, one week for spring break, the month of August, May pro-d day TBA, all statutory holidays.

Ledger House - Child Youth and Family Mental Health

• Crisis Services

The Ledger Program is an island-wide resource that provides acute, in-patient, hospital based psychiatric services for children and youth serving all Island Health children, youth and families.

We provide stabilization, assessment, treatment planning and short-term interventions for children and youth aged 6 to 16 years. 

Admissions

Admissions are either urgent or planned.

Urgent Admissions

Special Care Unit (SCU)

Clients admitted to the Special Care Unit generally require urgent service and/or short-term stabilization for any of the following:

florid psychosis active mania suicidal with previous, serious suicide attempts require intensive 24 hour monitoring

Learn More

Find out more about the referral process
Frequently Asked Questions

*Ledger House is also known as the Jack Ledger Building or Jack Ledger House.

Referrals

Physicians and mental health clinicians can make referrals to the Special Care Unit. Please contact Intake to discuss a potential referral to this unit.

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Planned Admissions

Children's and Youth Units

Clients admitted to these two units require in-patient, multi-disciplinary, tertiary mental health assessment and treatment planning. Upon admission, clients must have a secure placement and community discharge plan in place.

Children's Unit

Inpatient assessment, intervention and discharge planning for children ages 6-11 with complex psychiatric problems

Youth Unit 

Inpatient assessment, intervention and discharge planning for ages 12-16 with complex psychiatric problems

Referrals

Family physicians, pediatricians and mental health clinicians may make a referral to the Comprehensive Assessment Units (CAP) at *Ledger House.

Outpatient Services - Child, Youth and Family Mental Health

The goal of the outpatient services is to support children, youth and their families by evaluating and planning treatment for significant emotional, behavioural, psychological and psychiatric symptoms in order to increase the mental health and functioning of children and youth at home, at school and within their home community.

These programs are designed to provide services from Monday to Friday in an office-based setting.

We have three specialized services to best meet these goals:

The Anscomb Program

This program provides specialized services for children and youth up to and including age 18, who are having significant challenges in their daily functioning due to severe, complex and persistent mood, anxiety and/or behavioural conditions related to major psychiatric disorders. These may or may not be associated with co-morbid neuro developmental conditions.

The Anscomb program serves all of Island Health catchment area children and youth.

Read the Anscomb brochure to learn more about the program.

The Adolescent Intensive Day Treatment Program (AIDTP)

This program serves youth in the Greater Victoria Area aged 14 to 18. It provides a 5 month intensive trauma-informed and attachment focused service with a multi-disciplinary team.

The program is offered five days a week and includes education onsite. It is designed to support youth who are experiencing significant anxiety, depression, complex trauma, and chronic suicidality (risk of suicide).

Read the AIDTP brochure to learn more about the program. 

The Youth Dialectical Behaviour Therapy Program (Youth DBT)

This program serves 15 to 18 year old youth in the Greater Victoria Area who are struggling with chronic suicidality (risk of suicide) and/or self-injury and difficulty controlling emotions. It provides 6 months of specialized treatment for youth and their families.  

This includes weekly individual DBT therapy and a weekly DBT skills group. Support for caregivers is also provided on a weekly basis.  

Short phone coaching is available from Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.

Read the Youth DBT brochure to learn more about the program.

Location

The Anscomb program is located at the Queen Alexandra Centre for Children’s Health in Victoria. The Anscomb program serves all Island Health area children, youth and families with appointments occurring on site at the Queen Alexandra Centre for Children’s Health. 

General Information on Outpatient Services

Referral Required?

Required

How to get a Referral

South Island (Sooke, Westshore & Greater Victoria)  – All programs:

Referrals to for all programs are only accepted from Mental Health Clinicians through the Ministry of Child & Family Development - Child & Youth Mental Health Clinics.

Duncan, Central & North Island – Anscomb Program only:

Referrals to Anscomb are accepted from physicians and mental health clinicians. It is recommended that children/youth be connected with their local Mental Health services prior to a referral to Anscomb.

Find the referral form here.

Contact Us

To discuss a potential referral or obtain more information, please contact Island Health, Child, Youth & Family Mental Health Services Intake at 250-519-6704.

Location:

Queen Alexandra Centre for Children's Health
2400 Arbutus Road
Victoria, B.C.
V8N 1V7 

Collaborative Spasticity Program 

The Collaborative Spasticity Program (CSP) is a multidisciplinary and multimodal program (comprised of orthotists,  physician specialists in Rehabilitation Medicine, and physiotherapists) who meet to set and address realistic functional goals for patients with spasticity.  The program is based in the Fisher Building of the Queen Alexandra Centre alongside the Orthotics, Prosthetics, and Seating departments.

The program primarily caters to adult patients experiencing spasticity caused by stroke, cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis, acquired brain injury or spinal cord injury. We do not cure these conditions, but collaborate to address the negative functional effects of spasticity as much as feasible within the constraints of the disability.

The program examines the potential of combining 3 modalities: Botulinum toxin, physiotherapy, and orthotic/ bracing towards achieving realistic functional goals for patients who present with spasticity; treatment goals are individualized and specific. 

For patients who are either ambulatory or have the potential of becoming ambulatory, the overarching goal is to:

• Improve safe ambulation of our patients to enhance the possibility of achieving improved cardiovascular fitness and overall health.

For non-ambulatory patients the combination of Botulinum toxin, physiotherapy, and orthotics can be effective in addressing pain caused by spasticity in the arm and hand.  For wheelchair bound patients with spasticity Botulinum toxin may be helpful in assisting difficult seating issues.

General Information on Collaborative Spasticity Program

Referral Required

 

Contact Us:

Queen Alexandra Centre
Fisher Building
Phone: 250-519-6732

Physiatry Clinics

Our physiatry clinics consist of a physiatrist and a certified orthotist or certified pedorthist. The clinics focus on ongoing rehabilitative conditions such as diabetes, plantar fasciitis, Charcot- Marie-Tooth Disease, and other conditions.

The physician can review concerns with you and call in a clinician to assist in determining the proper bracing or foot orthotic  for the related assessment. An immediate referral can be made if the doctor writes a prescription for a device.

General Information on Physiatry Clinics

Referral Required

 

How to get a Referral

A written referral or prescription from your physician is required for a device and/or assessment at the Queen Alexandra Orthotics, Prosthetics and Seating.

How do I make an appointment?

You can send a referral or prescription to us by:

• Faxing it to 250-519-6915
• Scanning and emailing to qaopsadmin@islandhealth.ca
• Personally delivering it to our reception staff

To schedule your appointment, please call 250-519-6732.

At the end of your first appointment, you can make future appointments at our reception before you leave.

Preparing for Your Visit

When you visit us for the first time, please make sure you bring:

• Your date of birth;
• Your personal health number;
• The name of the person or agency responsible for payment; and
• A copy of your physician's prescription

When you are referred to us at QAOPS, your doctor will fax us a prescription with your diagnosis and their recommendations. Once we receive your referral we will contact you for your initial appointment. Alternatively, your doctor may also give you the prescription and ask you to contact us for an appointment. For physiatry referrals, we do need the referral on hand before booking any appointments.

You will need your Medical Services Plan health card and any third-party funding information you may have. If your appointment is for foot orthotics, please arrive a few minutes ahead of your appointment to fill in our one page intake form.

You will see a certified pedorthist, orthotist, prosthetist, physiatrist, or seating therapist during your visit.

Your clinician or doctor will do a complete assessment to determine your individual needs and goals. Your clinician will also discuss booking any follow up appointments you may need, and the process of applying for external funding if necessary. Depending on the services you require, you may  have a casting and/or fitting for your device done during your initial appointment, or be booked for a secondary appointment.

For all pedorthic and orthotic appointments, please bring supportive footwear for your assessment.

If your appointment is with our physiatrist, Dr. Lena Galimova, please bring a list of any prescription medication you are taking, as well as supportive footwear.

 

Contact Us

You can find us in the Fisher Building at the Queen Alexandra Centre for Children's Health.

Phone: 250-519-6732
Fax: 250-519-6915

Email: qaopsadmin@islandhealth.ca

Prosthetics Services 

The Queen Alexandra Orthotics, Prosthetics and Seating centre specializes in both paediatric and adult prosthetics. Designing, fitting, and fabricating artificial limbs, or prostheses, is part art and part science. We custom-build our prosthetics to perfectly fit the functional and aesthetic needs of clients who are missing limbs or other body parts.

Our Approach

A team of certified prosthetists, registered orthotic/prosthetic technicians, and physicians collaborate to deliver comprehensive care to our patients.

Typically patients are referred to our centre by a physiatrist or surgeon through an amputee clinic (such as the Adult Amputee Clinics at Royal Jubilee Hospital or the Paediatric Clinic at the Pearkes Building). First, a certified prosthetist will conduct a complete assessment of the patient's needs. Then the prosthetist, in partnership with the prosthetic team, makes recommendations and initiates the process of designing and fabricating an appropriate prosthetic device. Education, assured fitting, rehabilitation, and follow-up procedures are part of our centre's successful prosthetic process.

Today, prostheses built at our centre have an impressive range of function and adaptability. Energy-storing artificial feet and legs allow people to walk, run, and jump. Sockets can be refined until the fit perfectly matches an individual's physical needs.

Products Offered

• partial foot
• Symes-type prostheses
• trans-tibia prostheses
• trans-femoral prostheses
• knee disarticulation prostheses
• hip disarticulation prostheses
• hemipelvectomy
• myoelectric upper limb
• partial hand
• wrist disarticulation
• transradial prosthetic
• elbow disarticulation
• transhumeral
• shoulder disarticulation
• forequarter prostheses
• soft goods

The above is a list of our most frequent services. If you need a prosthesis not listed, please do contact us. We have specialized expertise and in-house manufacturing facilities for all kinds of custom devices. And we are more than willing to work with you to meet your specific needs.

Prosthetic products such as stump socks are dispensed at our facility and can be ordered by phone and mailed to you.

General Information on Prosthetics Services

Referral Required

 

How to get a Referral

A written referral or prescription from your physician is required for a device and/or assessment at the Queen Alexandra Orthotics, Prosthetics and Seating.

How do I make an appointment?

You or your doctor can send a referral or prescription to us by:

• Faxing it to 250-519-6915
• qaopsadmin@islandhealth.ca
• Personally delivering it to our reception staff

To schedule your appointment, please call 250-519-6732.

At the end of your first appointment, you can make future appointments at our reception before you leave.

Preparing for Your Visit

When you visit us for the first time, please make sure you bring:

• Your date of birth;
• Your personal health number;
• The name of the person or agency responsible for payment; and
• A copy of your physician's prescription

When you are referred to us at QAOPS, your doctor will fax us a prescription with your diagnosis and their recommendations. Once we receive your referral we will contact you for your initial appointment. Alternatively, your doctor may also give you the prescription and ask you to contact us for an appointment. For physiatry referrals, we do need the referral on hand before booking any appointments

When you arrive

You will need your Medical Services Plan health card and any third-party funding information you may have.

You will see a certified pedorthist, orthotist, prosthetist, physiatrist, or seating therapist during your visit.

Your clinician or doctor will do a complete assessment to determine your individual needs and goals. Your clinician will also discuss booking any follow up appointments you may need, and the process of applying for external funding if necessary. Depending on the services you require, you may  have a casting and/or fitting for your device done during your initial appointment, or be booked for a secondary appointment.

If your appointment is with our physiatrist, Dr. Lena Galimova, please bring a list of any prescription medication you are taking, as well as supportive footwear.

 

Finding Us

You can find us in the Fisher Building at the Queen Alexandra Centre for Children's Health.

Phone: 250-519-6732
Fax: 250-519-6915

Email: qaopsadmin@islandhealth.ca

 

Cleft Lip/Palate clinic

This clinic is for children born with cleft lip, palate or significant velopharyngeal insufficiency who live within the Island Health region.

Clefts may be diagnosed prenatally, at birth and throughout infancy and toddlerhood, as speech and feeding challenges arise. Referrals should be made to the Cleft/Lip and Palate Clinic as soon as a potential cleft is identified. Contact will be made as soon as possible to support feeding, surgical planning and education around cleft lip and palate.

The Island Health Cleft/Lip and Palate Clinic is accredited under the: American Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Association.

The team includes:

• Clinic Coordinator,
• Speech Language Pathologist,
• Paediatrician,
• Otorhinolaryngologist (Ear, Nose and Throat Surgeon),
• Pediatric Dentist,
• Plastic Surgeons,
• Nurse,
• Orthodontist,
• Social Worker
• Audiologist

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Resources

The following resources provide more information about our clinic and its services.

• Cleft Palate Clinic Brochure

Referrals

A referral is required for this service.

Cleft Lip/Palate Clinic Referral Form
Cleft Lip/Palate Clinic Referral Form - Fillable

Contacts

For any further details, please contact Melissa Armstrong, CLP team coordinator:
250-519-5390
Melissa.Armstrong@islandhealth.ca

Program Coordinator Clinics and Intake:

Tina Nelson
250-519-6785
Christina.Nelson@islandhealth.ca

Orthotics, prosthetics and seating clinics

Our patients can access specialized clinics that are our doctors oversee. Clinics include orthotic, spasticity, amputee and high risk limb assessment, as well as paediatric spinal deformity and neuromuscular.

Paediatric Spinal Clinic

A Spinal Clinic is held once a month at Queen Alexandra. Specialists (orthopaedic surgeons, physiotherapists, clinic nurses, and/or orthotists) are in attendance at each clinic. Patients from all over Vancouver Island are welcome.

Clinic Criteria

• under 18 years old and skeletally immature
• must have radiological evidence of a curve greater than 20 degrees
• must be referred by a doctor

Paediatric Neuromuscular Clinic

A Neuromuscular Clinic is held usually once a month at Queen Alexandra. Either one or two orthopaedic surgeons, one or two orthotists, the clinic physiotherapist, and the client's physiotherapist are in attendance at each clinic.

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A written referral or prescription from your physician is required for a device and/or assessment at the Queen Alexandra Orthotics, Prosthetics and Seating.

Or, you can make an appointment with one of the multidisciplinary clinics we participate in. They will assess and refer you to us.

You can send a referral or prescription to us by:

• faxing it to 250-519-6915
• scanning and emailing to qaopsadmin@islandhealth.ca
• personally delivering it to our reception staff

To schedule your appointment, call  250-519-6732.

When you visit us for the first time, please make sure you bring:

• your date of birth
• your personal health number
• the name of the person or agency responsible for payment
• a copy of your physician's prescription

At the end of your first appointment, you can make future appointments at our reception before you leave.

We are open Monday to Friday: 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Vancouver Island Children's Assessment Network

The Vancouver Island Children’s Assessment Network (VICAN) provides assessment services for children on Vancouver Island with complex developmental needs such as:

• Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) for all children up to age six, and for children over six when such services are not provided by the local school district. 
• Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) in at-risk children showing significant behavioural and developmental difficulties.

Greater Victoria up to the Duncan area generally has assessments completed at the Queen Alexandra Centre in Victoria.

Nanaimo CDC provides assessments via the outreach team that travels to the Comox Valley and Port Hardy areas to complete clinics there.

Explore VICAN Resources for Families for information on a range of topics related to behavioural and developmental difficulties.

Community Partners

Provincial Health Services Authority (PHSA)
Sunny Hill Health Centre for Children
Nanaimo Child Development Centre 

General Inquiries: 250-519-6745
Toll Free: 1-877-238-0846
Fax: 250-519-6931

Heather Fox, Program Coordinator 
250-519-6909 
heather.fox@islandhealth.ca