BC’s Health Minister Adrian Dix has announced expansion plans for the Surrey Memorial Hospital by improving and increasing capacity for more inpatient and outpatient care, surgeries and clinical programs, in addition to the new Surrey hospital being built in Cloverdale.
From June 1-6, 2023, health agencies and health minister met with staff from various departments at SMH to listen to concerns and work on solutions.
The hospital has been in the news recently when some various emergency physicians and doctors of SMH went public to talk about overcrowding and understaffing issues at the hospital.
“To bolster SMH’s function as a tertiary hospital, the Province and Fraser Health are outlining specific actions, including planning work to expand the existing Surrey Memorial Hospital by improving and increasing capacity for more inpatient and outpatient care, surgeries and clinical programs, in addition to the new Surrey hospital being built in Cloverdale,” said Adrian Dix, BC’s health minister.
The government provided a summary of the issues raised by the hospital staff. According to it, patients and staff are dealing with chronic congestion and very high daily volumes across key areas of the hospital.
The government acknowledged that the waits have become longer than desirable in the emergency room, while waiting for a bed and to be discharged either home or to other sites or services. Staff are reporting growing levels of aggression, increased levels of stress and concerns about staff’s ability to meet demand.
A need for increased speciality care services was also raised in maternity care, renal dialysis, stroke care, interventional radiology, on-site catheterization lab capacity for cardiac care, cardiac MRI and CT to improve patient flow.
More details about this expansion at SMH will be identified through the fall 2023 annual capital planning process, which will build upon a refreshed clinical service plan for the hospital and region.
While this work is being done, the Province and Fraser Health will implement other solutions to benefit health-care workers and patients in the short and medium term.
Immediate actions include working with hospitalists to stabilize physician workforce, increasing funding available for additional workforce, including opening a care and triage unit in the emergency department.
The province also plans to utilizing nearby community health-care services to relieve patient demand at the emergency department, including additional resources to expand hours of urgent and primary-care centres.
There will also be targeted international recruitment of medical and health-care staff.
The minster informed that his office and Fraser Health are also actively engaging with medical staff and staff from the Family Birthing Unit at SMH to ensure that it continues to serve as the highest tier of services for maternity and women’s health care at the hospital. “This will involve adding more support for the care teams, expanding access to operating rooms and increasing the infrastructure for maternity, pediatrics and women’s health in the longer term.”
In the medium term, the Ministry of Health will work closely with Fraser Health, including medical staff, nurses and allied health professionals, to refresh clinical service planning. The plan will determine how and where services should be delivered in Surrey and the broader region.
The plan for SMH will include: expanding renal services within 18 months;
- building a second interventional radiology suite at Surrey Memorial Hospital, which will enable stroke and cardiac specialty expansion;
- adding two cardiac catheterization labs at Surrey Memorial Hospital;
- adding new MRI and CT and replacing existing CT with cardiac capabilities to increase access to diagnostic services;
- completing renovations of existing operating rooms to expand capacity;
Surrey has been growing at a rate of 9.7% annually. It is estimated that approximately 1,000 new residents are moving to Surrey each month. Based on recent growth rates, the estimated population of Surrey is thought to be more than 600,000. As more people move to Surrey, health services need to keep up with the significantly growing demand.
While Kevin Falcon, BC United leader, supported the government’s recent announcement of two new cardiac catheterization labs and a radiology suite for SMH, the NDP’s 18-month timeline for these upgrades is unacceptable as the crisis requires immediate action.
