Health care is always a hot topic of conversation in Surrey, from long waits in the emergency rooms to a lack of resources that match Surrey's growing population.
Many doctors and nurses have repeatedly raised the alarm about issues at Surrey Memorial Hospital. In September, emergency physicians sent a letter to Dr. Victoria Lee, CEO of Fraser Health, saying urgent action is needed to address the worsening conditions for patients and emergency department workers.
A month earlier, in August, a nurse at Surrey Memorial Hospital told the Now-Leader how staffing issues were making work unsafe. The individual, who requested anonymity for fear of retribution from their employer, told the Now-Leader about the immense pressure they are under as ICU nurses are being assigned — otherwise known as redeployed — to the emergency room to cover as the ER is short-staffed.
These issues are not unique to Surrey Memorial Hospital, but similar ones also occur at Peace Arch Hospital.
Peace Arch Hospital, too, has seen long waits for care in the emergency room. In August, the ER narrowly avoided closing down due to a shortage of physicians; a “diversion” was averted at the 11th hour heading into the B.C. Day long weekend.
Family doctor shortages, too, remain a perennial local issue for residents of the Peninsula – and around B.C.
As B.C. heads into another provincial election on October 19, health care has been one of the main issues at the forefront.
Black Press Media reached out to the parties in the B.C. election to speak to how their government, if elected, would address the issue in Surrey.
Mike Starchuk, B.C. NDP candidate for Surrey-Cloverdale, said that if the B.C. NDP is re-elected, it will continue with its campaign of ensuring all British Columbians have a family doctor by 2025.
"We've connected over 250,000 people to family doctors in the last year, and so we're moving the dial in the right direction," Starchuk said. "If I take a look at the predictions in the next six months of attracting another 160,000 people to a family doctor, that we're getting ourselves very close to over 50 per cent of the people having a family doctor."
The B.C. NDP will continue working on the hospital and regional cancer centre in Cloverdale, which is set to open in 2030.
"The hospital alone is going to provide 120,000 visits in their ER when it opens up, and that's going to have a great affect to the people at Surrey on what kind of a load that that's going to take off of Surrey Memorial, Peace Arch as well, and possibly Langley and Delta," Starchuk said.
"When you think about what we said in 2020, we said we were going to build a hospital, we said we were going to build a regional cancer centre, and we're actually doing it."
Starchuk is especially passionate about the cancer centre.
"As a former firefighter, you know we are more susceptible. 50 per cent of the people that I'm going to work with, or did work with, may be diagnosed with cancer," Starchuck said. "Every single person that I met on my first day in the very first hall that I went into, they've all died of cancer. I went to the same calls, I breathed the same air, I wore the same equipment, and I'm still here as I'm walking, talking, ticking time bomb."
The cancer centre will have diagnostic equipment that is not found anywhere in North America except in New York, he added.
The Conservative Party of B.C. did not provide a candidate for an interview.
During an all-Surrey candidates dialogue hosted by the Surrey Board of Trade on Wednesday (Oct. 2), the moderator, Jasroop Gosal, posed the question, "What will you and your party do to further support and commit to enhancing Surrey's health-care capacity, and how will you ensure that any new piece of infrastructure that is built will adequately address the needs of Surrey?"
Elenore Sturko, Conservative Party of B.C. candidate for Surrey-Cloverdale, said she felt the new Cloverdale hospital will not adequately meet the needs of Surrey residents.
"(If elected) our government will take a look at this project. We will take a look at the project to see if there's ways of improving it," Sturko said. "We know the community has waited a long time, and we don't want to add to the NDP spiralling costs and delays, but we will look at the alignment of the community and see if we can make some improvements to better align with the needs of our growing city."
If elected, the B.C. Conservatives are pledging to implement what they call a patient-first health care plan.
"The plan emphasizes funding for frontline care, supporting health-care workers, and expanding emergency services to put patient care at the forefront," reads a party press release.
The party states they will expand access to health care, end long wait times, and implement an "activity-based funding" policy, among other things.
"This will see hospitals, Regional Health Authorities, and/or other non-government facilities funded based on their output – each time they treat patients for specific diagnostic and priority procedures, they receive additional funds. This approach incentivizes providers to be more efficient and treat as many patients as possible," reads a post on conservativebc.ca.
They also promise to compensate health workers who lost their jobs for refusing to get the COVID-19 vaccine and repeal the Health Professions and Occupations Act, sweeping legislation that merges B.C.’s health regulatory colleges from 15 to six that has been criticized by groups, including doctors and nurses.
Pat McCutcheon, B.C. Green Party candidate for Surrey-Cloverdale, said at the all-Surrey candidates dialogue hosted by the Surrey Board of Trade, that the party wants to introduce community health-care centres.
It would establish 93 community health centres across the province within the first year as part of what the party has called the “Dogwood model.” They say the model streamlines complicated referrals and ensures comprehensive care all in one place.
"These health-care centres are team-based within the health-care centres; you will have family doctors, you will have nurse practitioners, physiotherapists and psychologists, etc," McCutcheon said.
The government would lease and administer work space under the Dogwood model, allowing health-care professionals to focus on patient care.
– with files from the Canadian Press
