“Temporary” shortage of OB-GYNs is becoming regular for Surrey-White Rock expectant parents
Just over three weeks after Fraser
Health warned of a “temporary” shortage of obstetrician-gynecologist physicians
at Peace Arch Hospital, Monday morning the maternity ward began a second
three-day closure over the holidays. The hospital delivers approximately 1,000
babies annually.
This is just the latest in a series of
recent shutdowns across the Fraser Health and Interior Health regions due to
medical staff shortages, including extended overnight ER closures in Mission
and 100 Mile House, as well as another four-day maternity ward closure in Maple
Ridge.
The Peace Arch development is
something that was entirely preventable had the government listened to ample
warnings from medical staff, according to Interim Leader of the Opposition
and MLA for Surrey-White Rock Trevor Halford.
“Over the past year, Peace Arch
doctors and nurses have consistently warned that maternity ward closures were
inevitable without substantial hiring,” says Halford. “Yesterday’s closure
shows these service-interruptions are likely to become a permanent feature of
Peach Arch maternity care for the foreseeable future.”
Peace Arch Hospital maternity ward has
encountered shutdowns since 2021, when it was closed for two weeks. When the
government tried to shut the ward permanently in 2022, they only reversed
course after widespread public outcry and protests.
The notion of expectant parents having
to take the most joyous moment of their lives to another hospital brings undue
stress, travel, and unfamiliarity during the birthing process, adds Official
Opposition Critic for Health Anna Kindy.
“There are real medical consequences
from not having local maternity services available, particularly for high-risk
or complicated pregnancies,” says Kindy, whose career in medicine spans over 35
years.
“When parents are diverted to neighbouring hospitals, a domino-effect is
created for a system that is already stretched extremely thin. As I proposed in
my private member’s bill on greater transparency and choice for patients,
British Columbians deserve certainty through accurate information and viable alternative
treatment plans.”
Much of the medical
staffing shortage crisis BC is currently experiencing is a result of poor
decision-making and management from the NDP government, including credentialing
and licensing bottlenecks, a lack of available education seats for future
nurses and doctors, and less competitive compensation comparative to
neighbouring jurisdictions like Alberta and Washington.
There were over 250
temporary ER closures across BC in 2025.
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