Ridge Meadows Hospital faces 6th maternity unit diversion of the year

Fraser Health is once again warning expecting families of a maternity unit diversion at Maple Ridge’s Ridge Meadows Hospital.

The health authority says the five-day closure will stretch from Wednesday, March 18, at 8 a.m. until Monday, March 23, at 8:00 a.m., — a 120-hour closure for the department.

This is the sixth maternity unit diversion at Ridge Meadows Hospital this year. Fraser Health says the diversion is due to a temporary gap in obstetrician-gynecologists (OBGYNs), which has also prompted diversions at White Rock’s Peace Arch Hospital.

Vancouverites are sharing their thoughts with 1130 NewsRadio on B.C.’s health-care system, including the ongoing maternity unit diversions.

Erica says she knows people training to become OBGYNs in the province.

“As someone who was recently pregnant, it affects so many women across the province, and is unsettling,” said Erica.

“[It] puts a lot of strain on the really great health-care workers that we do have, that are working in hospitals and don’t have the support that they need to do their jobs safely.”

Whether in the emergency room or a local clinic, Vancouverites remain acutely aware of wait times and lack of resources in the system, sharing their own challenges trying to find a family doctor.

“I definitely have been without a family doctor for 10+ years after my last one retired,” said Kim.

“I was on the list for a family doctor from basically the date that they returned to that list and had no luck until, eventually, my partner had good timing.”

Nathan says he was finally assigned his family doctor after developing some health concerns.

“It took me… having a very serious medical thing in order to finally obtain a family doctor. I feel like…a lot of people are going through that kind of thing, and I can’t help but wonder, ‘If these people had [general practitioners], how much of this could we mitigate to begin with?'”

Overall, residents believe the current state of B.C.’s health-care system is slow and overburdened and want to see improvements in emergency room wait times, community support, and health-care staffing.

However, residents are also encouraged by the provincial government’s move to recruit south of the border.

On Tuesday, Premier David Eby touted the progress made in hiring U.S. health-care workers to B.C. Between March 2025 and January 2026, he announced more than 400 have accepted job offers across B.C.