With less than four months until B.C.’s provincial election, the BC NDP government is touting its initiatives in the City of Surrey.
At a press conference on Tuesday, Health Minister Adrian Dix said action has been taken on every step of the 30-point plan to meet the residents’ health-care needs.
“What the core of a hospital is, is its people,” Dix said.
He added that there have been 293 new positions added at Surrey Memorial Hospital, across all departments.
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“This includes 23 of 27 new pediatric emergency positions that have been filled, 21 new resident clinical associates for associate physician positions have been hired at Surrey Memorial Hospital, and 11 additional offers are on the table,” Dix said.
“Five new nurse practitioners have been recruited as estimates since January 2023, supporting internal medicine and thoracic and general surgeries. Fraser Health has hired overall at Surrey Memorial Hospital, 88 internationally educated nurses and 71 internationally educated physicians.”
Dix said there have also been new nursing graduates hired along with internists.
He added that out of the 30 actions the province announced for health care in Surrey, 14 of those have been completed and the remaining 16 are all in progress.
The completed projects include renovations to the Surrey Memorial Hospital Family Birthing Unit, targeted international recruitment, and increasing access to transition beds for vulnerable patients. The remaining projects include adding a new MRI and CT scanner with cardiac capabilities to increase access to diagnostic services and renovations to existing operating rooms to expand capacity.
This update came on the same day it was announced that more prefabricated classroom spaces are coming to Surrey, including 17 classrooms at Old Yale Road Elementary, six classrooms at Latimer Road Elementary and 12 at William Watson Elementary. The new classrooms are expected to be ready in fall 2025. Families in Surrey will have 875 more student spaces in their community as part of the government’s plan to expand schools faster.
Surrey is B.C.’s fastest-growing city and contains key ridings in the next provincial election in October.
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