BC Conservatives promise to build new children's hospital in Surrey

BC Children's Hospital in Vancouver. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)

The rapidly growing population within the South of Fraser area of Metro Vancouver demands its own children’s hospital, according to the Conservative Party of BC.

On Thanksgiving, John Rustad’s BC Conservatives announced that if elected as the governing party, they would build a new children’s hospital in Surrey — a facility that provides supplemental capacity to the province’s main BC Children’s Hospital facility on Oak Street in Vancouver.

The party states this secondary facility would be built on an 18-acre site owned by the City of Surrey near the intersection of Fraser Highway and 164th Street in Fleetwood, adjacent to SkyTrain Expo Line’s future Bakerview Station and Surrey Sports & Leisure Complex. Such a location is deemed to be central and more convenient for residents within eastern Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley.

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It would feature a pediatric emergency room, maternity ward, women’s healthcare, neonatal intensive care unit, and the first pediatric intensive care unit serving the Fraser Health Authority.

Proposed location for a new BC Children’s Hospital in Surrey. (Google Maps)

According to the party, Surrey Memorial Hospital’s existing pediatric emergency room only has 12 beds, and it treats about 50,000 children annually even though it was originally designed to treat only 20,000 patients. With a growing population, demand for this service at the hospital is growing by 8% to 10% each year.

It is further stated that nearly 45% of all children in BC live within the jurisdiction of the Fraser Health Authority. Without a specialized hospital for children, about 1,000 children are transferred from Surrey to BC Children’s Hospital in Vancouver annually for critical care, with these transfers being dangerous due to the hospital’s bed capacity and delays due to road traffic congestion.

Surrey’s new children’s hospital would also be a new healthcare hub for newborns. Surrey Memorial Hospital currently delivers over 6,000 babies per year, but it only has capacity for 5,000, with most newborns requiring critical care transferred to BC Children’s Hospital in Vancouver.

“Our new children’s hospital will ensure that Surrey families have access to world-class healthcare without having to travel long distances during critical emergencies,” said Rustad in a statement on Monday.

“We’re committed to building a healthcare system that works for all British Columbians, especially the families who have been underserved for far too long. This hospital is about saving lives, improving care, and ensuring that the next generation of British Columbians grows up with the healthcare they deserve.”

The Provincial Health Services Authority would operate the new children’s hospital in Surrey, which also operates BC Children’s Hospital.

A new children’s hospital would be in addition to the current construction project of building the new $2.9 billion hospital in Cloverdale, which will be Surrey’s second general hospital upon opening in 2030.

Early in 2024, the BC NDP-led provincial government also announced their plan to provide Surrey Memorial Hospital with a major expansion — a new acute tower with medical, surgical, pediatric, perinatal, women’s health, mental health, and stroke care services.

In response to the BC Conservatives’ platform announcement, the BC NDP accused Rustad and his previous association with the BC Liberals (now BC United) of ignoring Surrey’s growing healthcare needs when they were the governing party.

“People in Surrey remember that John Rustad and the BC Liberals sold off land meant to be a hospital and rejected a second medical school. Now, it seems he will say anything, but he has no plan, no costing and no intention to follow through,” said Adrian Dix, BC’s minister of health and the BC NDP’s candidate in Vancouver-Renfrew, in a statement.

“We’ve started construction on a new hospital for Surrey and we’re adding a major expansion to Surrey Memorial that includes a new maternity unit and pediatric services as well as a new acute care tower. If there’s land from the City, we’d be happy to work together to use that to further strengthen health care services for families in Surrey.”

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