A WORLD-WIDE shortage of paediatric physiotherapists has hit close to home with a limited number of Government staff juggling to ensure physically challenged children receive the treatment they need. To make matters worse, one of two wheelchair-friendly buses transporting some of these children to the Bermuda Riding For The Disabled programme in Warwick, broke down last year, robbing them of the therapeutic benefits the centre provides.

Centre manager, Moira Benbow said the children were being put at risk because Government was unable to recruit sufficient staff, especially to cater to the West End of the island.

She explained that riding helped to not only boost the children's self esteem, but also provided a much needed form of physiotherapy - especially when they weren't getting physiotherapy sessions with a therapist.

Riding, she said, worked various back and leg muscles, while the wheelchair-bound children were "given legs" by feeling the movement of the horse beneath them, helping them work on balance and stability.

About 60 individuals participate in weekly classes, with younger children accommodated in two morning sessions and older groups and those from the Mid-Atlantic Wellness Institute and Orange Valley Centre attending afternoon classes.

However, while the older groups have their own transport, the younger children depended on the wheelchair-friendly buses.

While Mrs. Benbow applauds Government for its "good intentions" at providing transport, she said even before the bus broke down, they were both practically "falling apart" and considered "dangerous".

"They wait until the buses are practically falling apart before they order a new one," she said, adding that this is exactly what happened early last year when the first bus broke down.

Staff at Riding For The Disabled wrote to Premier and Transport Minister Ewart Brown, asking for a new bus and several months later a new bus was made available.

But within weeks the second bus broke down, once again leaving staff and volunteers scrambling on a daily basis to ensure transport for the children, which Mrs. Benbow says is not as easy as just finding someone with a car: "That's quite a performance ? getting parents permission, sufficient insurance and actually finding a parent who has a car and can bring them."

As for using taxis, Mrs. Benbow said they did ask Government for financial help in this regard, but were told there was "no money available for this".

The co-ordinator for physiotherapy and occupational therapy services for the Department of Health, Sandra Thornhill, confirmed there was no pool of physiotherapists to work from in Bermuda and that they were trying to get people from abroad.

She said they were hopeful that some candidates, who had been recommended, would be arriving shortly, but added that vital services provided at schools were ongoing and staff from other areas were also covering wherever they could.

Ms Thornhill said she personally carried a small caseload of children and that those identified as "high risk" were being helped by the physiotherapists her department had, while those who "could cope" had their needs met through special physical education classes at schools.

"We have been sorely strapped for staff, but we're doing the best that we can," she added.