Surrey needs cancer services more than maternity ward, B.C. health minister suggests
Posted July 4, 2022 12:20 pm.
Last Updated July 4, 2022 12:21 pm.
B.C.’s health minister suggests the need for maternity services in Surrey isn’t as great as the need for cancer treatments.
Construction is set to begin next summer on the new $1.7 billion hospital in Cloverdale, a facility that will not have a maternity ward. With Surrey being the fastest-growing community in B.C., as well as several hospital diversions that have been in effect across Metro Vancouver, many have asked why this new facility will not include birth services.
Health Minister Adrian Dix says there is potential on the site of the new hospital for a maternity ward “if that were needed in the future.”
Related article: Brand new Surrey hospital will open without maternity ward
“We have a planning process for what’s needed,” Dix said Monday, noting there are maternity services available at Peace Arch, Surrey Memorial, and Langley Memorial hospitals.
“What’s needed in Surrey is we have the set of population that’s moving from a younger population … to the average, essentially to the mean. What’s stunningly lacking in Surrey are cancer services and other services. So that’s why those decisions are made.”
The new BC Cancer Centre at the same site will include an oncology ambulatory care unit with 50 exam rooms, 54 chemotherapy treatment spaces, and space for six linear accelerators for radiation therapy.
In January, Fraser Health announced the temporary closure of the Peace Arch hospital, only to reverse the decision soon after.
At the time, Fraser Health president and CEO Dr. Victoria Lee said up to1,000 babies are born at Peace Arch Hospital every year and Surrey Memorial Hospital handles up to 5,000 births annually.
Dix says decisions about what services are offered at the new hospital in Cloverdale and other facilities are made by health-planning professionals, not politicians.
“You look at the needs and you address those needs across hospitals, and that’s what we’re doing here,” he said.
Read more: Squamish General Hospital facing ‘gap in coverage’ in maternity ward
The new hospital is set to have 168 beds, a surgical/perioperative suite with five operating rooms, four procedure rooms, an ER with 55 treatment spaces, and virtual care options in all clinical service areas. The province says it will also have three CT scanners and two MRI machines, as well as pharmacy, laboratory, and academic spaces.
The hospital will also include a child care centre with 49 openings, and 730 parking spots, including 375 surface spaces and 355 underground.
It’s expected to open in 2027.
With files from Andrew Cowie, Robyn Crawford, and Martin MacMahon
