B.C. outlines actions at Surrey Memorial Hospital after doctors raised concerns in 2023

B.C.’s health minister says the province is making progress on action items related to improving care for people south of the Fraser, at Surrey Memorial Hospital.

In the spring of 2023, front-line health-care workers sounded the alarm, saying the hospital was operating in “crisis” mode. A group of physicians said they felt “compelled to inform the public of the unsafe conditions that have come to exist in our hospital, and what has been told to the community is incomplete.”

CityNews spoke with several health-care workers and other industry professionals, who cited a lack of resources as one of the major challenges and driving factors of the situation.

While officials pushed back on some of the characterizations, a meeting was held between stakeholders, with 30 action items ultimately being put together to improve care.

Health Minister Adrian Dix said Thursday there’s been some movement on the staffing front.

“We recruited 21 new resident clinical associates to support the work of hospitalists and internal medicine physicians. This has been a long-standing issue in Fraser Health — one that, under Dr. Lee’s direction, we have made real progress on,” he said.

“We recruited 75 internationally educated nurses to enhance staffing levels at Surrey Memorial Hospital, which brings safer care to patients. We’re recruiting 70 more physicians to work at Surrey Memorial Hospital, hiring 117 new nursing graduates and 164 employed student-nurses at Surrey Memorial Hospital.”

Of the aforementioned 30 actions, Dix says 13 initiatives have been “fully completed,” while 17 are still in progress.

They include actions to expand internal medicine capacity, child and youth mental health responses, and adding security officer positions.

“In the coming weeks, pre-construction will begin for a new, standalone renal hemodialysis facility located on the northwest corner of the Surrey Memorial Hospital campus,” he explained, noting construction is expected to wrap up in 2025.

“People in the community in Surrey, sometimes here in the hospital, have to go to other communities for dialysis, which means that going to other communities is not on one occasion but on multiple occasions and we have to build out our capacity.”

Work for new cardiac care supports and virtual specialty consultation services are also underway.

“The dynamic growth and transformation of the Surrey community underscore the importance of the significant strides we have taken in implementing our 30 priority actions,” said Dr. Victoria Lee, president and CEO, Fraser Health.

“These actions are laying the foundation for expanded, accessible health services to support our patients and their families, while equipping our staff and medical staff to deliver exceptional care for many years to come. I appreciate the continued partnership of the Ministry of Health and our staff and medical staff for their steadfast dedication to completing this vital work.”

Since health-care workers’ concerns were raised, the province has said it was working with Fraser Health to address the challenges, adding it has come up with a number of improvements to relieve some of the stress.

Last week, the B.C. government announced the details of its nurse-to-patient ratio, as well as financial incentives, to entice professionals to work in the province. Prior to that, in 2022, the province moved to speed up the process to allow internationally trained doctors and nurses to begin practicing in B.C.

Earlier this year, Dix said the province had overall increased its number of family doctors, noting B.C. now has the highest number of family physicians per capita in Canada.