IN a significant move to address the ongoing health care crisis in Surrey, Mayor Brenda Locke introduced a Notice of Motion on Monday for the city to hire a Health Care Administrator to address long-standing health-care inequities.
Despite having a population of similar size to the City of Vancouver, Surrey has 671 hospital beds compared to Vancouver’s 2,572. Even with 168 beds slated for the new Cloverdale hospital that is under construction, Vancouver will still have triple the number of hospital beds for a population of similar size and has no maternity or pediatric wards.
“The creation of a Health Care Administrator will mark a significant step toward health equity for Surrey residents,” said Locke. “These disparities are not abstract statistics; they are the anxious parent in a crowded ER, the senior awaiting a long-term-care bed, someone suffering with mental health challenges falling through the cracks, and the young family searching for a family doctor who is taking new patients. Health care is a provincial responsibility, and the Province must ensure equitable service for all British Columbians—including the people of Surrey. Our residents deserve better, and with a Health Care Administrator we will be one step closer to ensuring their voices are heard and their needs are met.”
Surrey residents continue to face an alarming shortage of critical health care resources including:
- Surrey Memorial delivered 6,000 babies in 2024 in space built for 4,000.
- Only 59 family doctors serve every 100,000 Surrey residents, barely half the provincial average and less than half of Vancouver’s 136.
- Surrey Memorial still lacks cardiology cath-lab services, a stroke centre, and a trauma unit.
- Surrey and White Rock together have 996 hospital beds versus 2,572 in Vancouver; just 597 acute-care beds versus 1,138; and zero long-term-care beds compared with Vancouver’s 535.
- Surrey children are treated in 16 pediatric beds while Vancouver has 252.
- Surrey has 84 mental health and addictions beds compared to 377 in Vancouver.
- Emergency physicians here spend 16 minutes per patient—Vancouver patients receive nearly three times that care.
Locke’s Notice of Motion includes the following direction:
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Investigate health-care initiatives successfully implemented by municipalities like Colwood, particularly their operational clinic model.
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Explore additional pathways to increase the availability of family physicians in Surrey through creative solutions such as community health centres and interdisciplinary networks.
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Evaluate the viability of Surrey employing or contracting family physicians to meet demand
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Report back to the council within 120 days with actionable recommendations.
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Establish a Health-Care Administrator position within the City Manager’s Office to coordinate these efforts and advocate for equitable health-care resources.
Now that Locke has introduced this Notice of Motion, Surrey City Council will vote on the matter at a later meeting.
