BC Conservatives announces a new children’s hospital at 164 St. & Fraser Hwy

Surrey, BC – John Rustad, leader of the Conservative Party of British Columbia, announced a major healthcare initiative today aimed at building a new Children’s Hospital in Surrey. The project is part of the party’s Patients First model and will include essential facilities such as a pediatric emergency room (ER), maternity ward, women’s health centre, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), and the first Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) in the Fraser Health region. This hospital aims to provide families in one of BC’s fastest-growing areas with better access to critical healthcare services.

Located at the intersection of 164 St. and Fraser Hwy., the hospital will be conveniently close to the future Bakerview SkyTrain station, making it accessible to residents of Surrey, Langley, Abbotsford, Chilliwack, and even the BC interior. This new facility seeks to address significant healthcare challenges faced by the region’s population.

”The demand for pediatric healthcare is growing rapidly in the Fraser Health Authority, where nearly 45% of BC’s children reside. Currently, the region lacks a dedicated pediatric hospital, and existing facilities are overburdened. Surrey Memorial’s pediatric ER, designed for 20,000 patients, now treats around 50,000 children annually, with demand increasing by 8-10% each year. Additionally, Fraser Health has no Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, requiring nearly 1,000 critically ill children to be transferred to BC Children’s Hospital in Vancouver annually. These transfers often result in dangerous delays, as the first hour of care is critical for survival.” says Conservative Party of BC in a press statement.

“Surrey’s healthcare infrastructure also struggles to support maternal and newborn care. Surrey Memorial Hospital delivers over 6,000 babies annually, though it only has the capacity for 5,000, leading to over 1,000 mothers being diverted to other hospitals. The growing population exacerbates this crisis, and many newborns needing critical care must be transferred to BC Children’s Hospital due to insufficient NICU capacity in Surrey.”

The new hospital will be tailored to meet the needs of the rapidly expanding community. It will feature a state-of-the-art pediatric emergency room, the first PICU in Fraser Health, a NICU for critically ill newborns, and a comprehensive maternity ward and women’s health centre, all designed to alleviate the current healthcare strain and ensure families receive the care they need close to home.

The hospital will be built on an 18-acre site owned by the city at Fraser Hwy. and 164 St., near the Bakerview SkyTrain station and Surrey Rec Centre. Its central location will provide easy access for families from across Surrey and surrounding regions, reducing the burden of traveling to Vancouver for specialized pediatric care.