Surrey Memorial status update shows improvement, but proves disappointing

Surrey, B.C. — British Columbia's minister of health went to Surrey Memorial Hospital with top officials from the Fraser Health Authority for a promised update on measures to improve services at the beleaguered hospital, but the incremental improvements proved to be a disappointment.

Front-line staff tell CTV News they'd hoped for an announcement of new initiatives or strategies – maybe even an expansion of the hospital – but were underwhelmed by slow and steady progress, as was the city's mayor.

"Honestly, I was hoping to hear about a second tower right here at Surrey and we didn’t hear that," said Brenda Locke. "I’m hopeful, though, that’s in the plan."

The emergency department is so busy that Fraser Health recently installed an overflow waiting room with two exam rooms in a portable building just outside the emergency department specifically for children and their parents when demand is high.

Health Minister Adrian Dix detailed the progress made on a 30-point plan devised after the hospital's doctors spoke publicly about patient safety concerns due to critical staffing shortages and delayed care. The hiring of hundreds of staff and progress on expanded services, including dialysis and cardiac diagnostics, were also highlighted.

"It’s not instant change, but on every one of the measures we decided to do together there has been action and there has been progress," Dix told patients, staff, and others who'd gathered in the atrium of the SMH critical care tower.

Fraser Health board chair Jim Sinclair also acknowledged that progress has been difficult given the wide-scale labour shortage in the province, with health-care professionals in particularly short supply.

"Recruitment, obviously it’s an issue," he said. "But the fact they’ve recruited 165 health-care professionals (to newly created positions) is amazing and something we need to celebrate."

However, SMH patients continue to face long waits in the emergency department, up to 12 hours from the time they register in the waiting room to the time they're moved to an exam room. Dix also acknowledged that there are only 740 permanent "base" beds in the hospital, but 825 currently admitted.

That means 65 patients are in beds lining hallways or crammed into whatever spare space is available. Over the weekend, the hospital didn't have access to CT scanning services because there were no available technologists to run the machinery.

A second community hospital is in development for the city, but has been widely criticized as woefully insufficient for the city's current needs, let alone future population pressures.

CTV News asked the health minister when patients could expect to start seeing the impacts of behind-the-scenes logistical, hiring and planning efforts to improve service at Surrey Memorial and he insisted "they are now."