B.C. health minister vows ‘refresh’ of hospital discharge policy after Chilliwack mayor complaints

Chilliwack’s mayor says he met with B.C. Health Minister Adrian Dix last week after complaints of patients being discharged from Surrey Memorial Hospital and sent to Chilliwack shelters in taxis.

Mayor Ken Popove said a few weeks ago that the patients clearly needed more medical care, but instead were shipped off to shelters that clearly could not properly care for them.

And after he raised the issue, Dix and Victoria Lee, CEO for Fraser Health, met with him, in a meeting Popove describes as “constructive.”

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“I think there’s some good potential to work together on strategizing moving forward. I don’t want to be part of the problem — yes, I brought it up, but I want to be part of the solution and see how we can help.”

Popove says Dix has promised to “refresh” the discharge policy for patients, which will help other communities that may be experiencing the same issue.