Following two days of meetings about the status of Surrey Memorial Hospital and numerous doctors and staff speaking out about their working conditions, the president of Fraser Health said it has still not reached crisis level.
“I think I’ve been very clear our system is under significant strain at this time for a variety of reasons,” Dr. Victoria Lee told Global News. “But the stressors that are not unique to Fraser or to British Columbia or what other health systems are experiencing across Canada, around the globe.
“We know that there’s global health, human resource challenges and gaps, and part of what we’re experiencing is due to that.”
Lee said the pressure is increasing across the system but officials have opened up emergency operation centres for the last several months to ensure that they are meeting the demand and changes.
“I do believe we’re at a crux and at a point in the health system (where) we need to make transformative changes, and I think that’s part of where we are at,” she added.
A health summit was held earlier this week with hospital administration, Fraser Health and local politicians, followed by closed-door meetings between Health Minister Adrian Dix, Fraser Health’s CEO and doctors from various fields.
These moves come after a copy of the notes that ER doctors at Surrey Memorial Hospital were adding to patient charts amid congestion and delay was leaked, and which allegedly led to some facing investigation.
Then, more than 35 physicians and midwives at the hospital added their voices to the chorus of patients and staff criticizing the institution for a lack of resources affecting quality of care.
In an open letter to the “citizens of Surrey,” the women’s health providers claim a “crisis caused by chronic and pervasive under-resourcing” has led to “unsafe conditions and adverse outcomes.”
According to the letter, the challenges have resulted in one newborn death, “countless near misses” and “moral injury” to care providers at the beleaguered hospital.
Earlier this week, Global News obtained an email from Fraser Health calling on hospitalists to backfill 18 shifts at Surrey Memorial Hospital as the need for hospitalists remains dire.
A hospitalist is a doctor that cares for hospitalized patients after they have been admitted, and doctors and health professionals at Surrey Memorial have already sounded the alarm at the lack of hospitalists resulting in some patients waiting days to be seen by an admitting physician.
Global News has also obtained a letter from Surrey Memorial Hospital’s Medical Staff Association, calling on B.C.’s Ministry of Health and Fraser Health to fill vacant positions or have the emergency room stop accepting new patients and send them to other hospitals.
The letter, dated May 19, states physicians at the hospital are being placed under “perilous conditions” due to staffing shortages and the number of “preventable deaths (is) rising in (the) overcrowded and understaffed ER.”
In an internal memo to staff, which was obtained by Global News Thursday, Lee said in part: “Yet, amidst the tumultuous sea of news reports, it is hard not to feel a pang of disheartenment. Personal commitments are called into question, and individuals face baseless attacks and threats. It hurts, and it makes us question the fabric of our collective dedication.”
Lee told Global News that she has heard many people express to her that it has been a distressing experience these past few weeks.
“This was not about me at all,” she said. “It was about the comments that I heard from staff, the medical staff, about some of the concerns that they were hearing, and then not being able to provide the care, but also being able to express their pride and commitment in the work that they do.”
Lee said there is no deterrent for any doctors or hospital staff who want to speak out publicly about the issues they are facing.
“No gag order whatsoever,” she said.
Dix declined Global News’ request for an interview Thursday but has said before that hiring hospitalists is held up due to contract negotiations.
Despite two days of requests, Fraser Health’s board chair has not been made available to Global News for an interview.
For now, Lee said conversations are happening and strategies and initiatives are being implemented but anyone needing emergency services should still feel safe to go to the emergency room.
“I’d say anyone that’s experiencing (an) emergency go to the nearest emergency department,” she said. “Now, it’s also important to note that there’s a lot of community resources that are available. There’s a large number of urgent care primary care centres that we have opened in Surrey and we also have (an) urgent care response centre.
“Fraser Health has opened up virtual care that’s regionally available.”
Lee said they want to ensure people are getting the best care possible before they have to access emergency care.
“And we want to protect the emergency care for where it’s most needed — for emergencies.”