Surrey will be getting a second hospital soon, to make up for the city’s growing population.
As the fasting growing city in B.C., Premier John Horgan said construction will start within the next few years. He mentioned that about 1,000 people move to Surrey every month.
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“This announcement means real money on a real plan,” said Horgan. “This is pretty exciting and this is going to be a fast paced project.”
The new hospital will be located in Cloverdale across from Kwantlen Polytechnic University. It will have in-patient beds, an emergency ward, operating rooms, and outpatient services.
It comes in good time as Fraser Health predicts emergency room visits will grow from 153,000 in 2016-17 to around 221,000 in 2026-27.
The business-plan phase will now start to finalize a budget, which will take 12-18 months, said Health Minister Adrian Dix.
Once they approve a plan, construction could begin in the fall of 2021 or 2022.
Hogan did not give a cost estimate for the project, but the land it will be built on is already owned by the government.
A new Surrey hospital was part of the NDP election campaign platform in 2017.
Did you know the Surrey Memorial Hospital currently offers free parking?
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