Fraser Valley hospitals are drowning in a pit of increasing urgency, and it’s not due to patient emergencies. As of this past September, hospitals are reporting a legitimate “crisis” as a result of extreme staff shortages, too many patients, and not enough room for everyone who needs care. Abbotsford Regional Hospital and Cancer Centre and Surrey Memorial Hospital are just a couple of the hospitals impacted by these factors.
The Abbotsford Regional Hospital (ARH) in particular is overflowing at 130 per cent capacity; they do not allow patient refusals, even if there is no space available for incoming patients. Doctors and other medical staff at the ARH shared their thoughts in an interview with 1130 NewsRadio. Surgeon Dr. Terry T. W. Leung said that if patients are lucky, they’ll get a place in a lounge or one divided area that holds multiple patients. “It’s out of control,” Dr. Leung said. Due to the lack of space, some patients have beds in the shower areas of other patients’ rooms.
Future patients or residents who might need to admit a family member or friend to ARH should reconsider. Dr. Leung warned that some patients may not be seen by a doctor. Coming in with a serious injury, like a broken limb, would cause most people to wait many hours just to get into a department, followed by “another 10 plus hours to finally see a doctor,” said Leung. Doctors often have to take on double the clientele — approximately “20 patients” per physician — which results in “suboptimal” care.
Dr. Leung explained that Fraser Health has not been supportive, and other physicians impacted by the crisis stated that it’s all been a result of “years of neglect.”
On Sept. 16, Surrey Memorial Hospital reportedly issued a five page letter to the CEO of Fraser Health, Dr. Victoria Lee, to emphasize the importance of a need for change within their workplace, for them and for their patients. They stated that “our primary concern is the quality of care provided to patients, but we are met with silence from those who have the power to implement changes.”
“We’re just soldiers here, working with what we’ve got. We’re all stretched pretty thin,” Dr. Leung explained, citing the impact it’s had on her and other professionals. She added that “I’m exhausted from having to talk about this over and over again because I feel like, ‘Why is nobody listening?’ Like, this is such a big deal, how can anyone not care? It’s frustrating.”
Leung and other healthcare employees are understanding toward their patients’ own frustrations, but claim “there’s nothing we can do…” Dr. Leung spoke on behalf of all hospital staff when she said that “we feel demoralized and really, quite helpless.”
Veronica is a Staff Writer at The Cascade. She loves to travel and explore new places, no matter how big or small. She is in her second year at UFV, pursuing the study of Creative
Writing.
