Fraser Health dealing with 5th maternity diversion at Peace Arch Hospital

Fraser Health has announced another maternity ward diversion at Peace Arch Hospital, scheduled to begin Thursday at 8 a.m. and end Monday.

Due to ongoing staffing trouble, Fraser Health set up a website for updates on maternity diversions at both Peace Arch and Ridge Meadows hospitals.

Fraser Health wrote on the website that the diversion is due to a “temporary gap in obstetrician-gynecologist coverage.”

It’s the fifth in a string of diversions at the hospital forcing women to have to give birth at others in the area.

Expectant mothers are asked to call the maternity unit first and staff will direct them to the appropriate hospital.

Fraser Health says it is actively trying to recruit more OBGYNs and has hired another physician to start in the spring, though the health authority did not specify if the doctor will help address maternity ward diversions.

Trevor Halford, interim leader of the B.C. Conservative party is calling on the province to take responsibility and recruit more physicians.

In a statement, Halford says “once again, White Rock and Surrey families are being told their local hospital is unable to safely deliver babies.”

“Since December 2025, the Peace Arch maternity ward has been closed on average every other week,” said Halford.

While discussing the issue with CTV News last month, Dr. Darren Lazare, Fraser Health’s regional head for obstetrics and gynecology, apologized to expectant parents for any “stress that this might cause.”

“We are looking to recruit,” Lazare added. “We are actively recruiting across the province, across the country, and across North America.”

With files from CTV News Vancouver’s Andrew Weichel