SURREY: The B.C. government announced this week that a new acute care tower will be built at Surrey Memorial Hospital. The announcement comes after the region, Emergency physicians and its residents have made multiple calls to the government to address Surrey’s access to health care.
The new tower is expected to add acute and specialized care capacity to the Surrey Memorial Hospital campus, such as medical, surgical, pediatric, perinatal, women’s-health, and mental health and stroke care. Planning will align with the ongoing improvements to the site.
“Surrey’s quickly growing population needs health care to grow with it,” said Premier David Eby. “People need to know health care is accessible, not after a long wait or a long drive to another community. World-class health care should be available right here in Surrey. Today, I am announcing that a new acute care tower is on the way for the Surrey Memorial Hospital to help meet local needs by adding more hospital beds and more services south of the Fraser River.”
During the next 15-18 months, the project will proceed to the business-planning phase. Consultation to support business planning will soon launch and include engagement with health-care providers, Indigenous partners, the community and local municipalities.
The business-planning process determines project scope, budget, timelines and procurement strategy. Once the business plan is complete and approved by government, the procurement process will start and construction will get underway.
“Last summer, I announced 30 actions to improve health care for people in Surrey after meeting with and listening to the needs of health-care workers at Surrey Memorial Hospital, and we are already seeing great progress,” said Adrian Dix, Minister of Health. “This announcement builds on those actions, as well the construction of a new hospital and cancer centre, and plans to open a new medical school, the first one in about 50 years in Western Canada.”
In 2023, the Province announced 30 actions to improve access to health care for people in Surrey, which included reviewing site needs at Surrey Memorial Hospital.
People of Surrey, doctors and health care fraternity had protested last year in front of the Surrey City Hall to demand immediate action on the growing health care crises in Surrey. The demonstration put a spotlight on five critical healthcare issues in the region like unbalanced resource allocation between the north and south of the Fraser; insufficient bed capacity and inadequate hospital infrastructure; lack of a health services plan aligned with demographics and evidence-based requirements; limited access to primary and community care services, including a shortage of family doctors; and inadequate funding for specialized tertiary services like cardiac, trauma, maternity, pediatric, interventional radiology, and diagnostics.
Approximately 685,000 people live in Surrey, a number that is expected to continue growing. Surrey’s population grew at a rate of 3.8% from 2022 until 2023. Based on annual estimates, on average the population of Surrey grew by more than 2,000 people each month from 2022 until 2023.
The announcement was welcomed by the Surrey Board of Trade, “We do hope that Surrey’s second hospital that is to be built can also include services for trauma, maternity care, heart attacks and strokes,” said Anita Huberman, President & CEO, Surrey Board of Trade. “There is still time. It is possible. Surrey is desperately in need of enhanced health care service delivery given that we will be the largest city in BC by 2029.”
“Health care is part of city building and economic infrastructure. These services can still be added into the second hospital,” continued Huberman.
Kevin Falcon leader of the opposition however called it a last minute rushed announcement full of routine promises on behalf of the BC NDP and lacking in a clear timeline.
