Surrey Memorial Hospital installs portable as waiting area for pediatric ER

Using portables for kids in B.C. isn’t just happening at schools — Surrey Memorial Hospital has installed a temporary emergency waiting area at its pediatric wing, preparing for a potential surge in patients.

Fraser Health confirms to CityNews that the portable was installed in anticipation of what could be a spike in “pediatric volumes this winter.”

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The health authority explains the portable is designed to be a space “dedicated to kids and their families to help ensure the best possible experience – especially during times when visit numbers are high.”

“In the province, we are starting to see an increase of Respiratory Syncytial Virus and influenza. While it is difficult to predict the severity of winter surges, Surrey Memorial Hospital still prepares to handle surges to ensure that patients have the best possible access to care and experience with the health care system,” Fraser Health said in an email Wednesday.

“This waiting area will provide a sense of comfort, care and reassurance to all children and their family members, during this stop on their care journey.”

“We find when pediatric patients come to emergency, they come with their families so sometimes mom, dad, and other siblings, strollers, and our waiting area became very congested,” Surrey Memorial Hospital Executive Director Martha Cloutier added.

“In November last year we did see a surge of patients and it was very important for us to have an area so people could safely be seated, have some distance, and have their family with them.”

The health authority says the COVID-19 pandemic and respiratory illnesses, such as RSV, have highlighted the importance of being prepared for potential spikes in patients needing care, especially during the colder months.

Fraser Health says the temporary waiting room should be operational by the last week of November and will stay as long as the respiratory illness season lasts, and they have a surge in patients.

“It’s a positive thing for the site, we’re very excited about it because it will allow that space,” said Cloutier.

Local doctor applauds Fraser Health taking proactive measures

Dr. Anna Wolak, a family physician in Vancouver, says the use of the portable isn’t something to be concerned about. She tells CityNews she’s pleased to see more proactive action being taken.

“Over the last three, four years, all we’ve seen is reactivity, reactivity, and it’s always one or two steps behind. Now, Fraser Health is actually thinking,” she said.

“This is what we saw last year. We know that it put a crunch on the emergency room. We don’t know what it’s going t look like this year, but let’s prepare for the worst and start getting portables set up and start getting space available, so we’re not caught with our hands behind our back.”

The other important note, Wolak says, is respiratory illness numbers are starting to rise. Given how such viruses are often transmitted, she says it’s a good idea to give people more space, to help ventillate waiting areas.

“Hopefully, then, it does not put us into the crunch of the triple-virus epidemic that we saw in the winter last year,” Wolak added.

With files from Monika Gul