Expansion work at Peace Arch Hospital is now complete, which will improve access to emergency and surgical services.
“The White Rock and south Surrey area is growing fast and, with that, comes more demand for health-care services,” said Adrian Dix, minister of health. “Our government recognized this and took fast action to help people in this region by moving forward with a bigger emergency department and surgical suite at Peace Arch Hospital.”
The expanded emergency department more than doubles in size with the number of treatment spaces increasing to 50 from 24, and will include dedicated space for children and families.
A new surgical suite above the emergency department has an additional two operating rooms, going from three to five. The medical device reprocessing department has been expanded and moved closer to the surgical suite.
Redeveloping these areas will improve overall efficiency by providing direct links between emergency, surgery and the sterilization of surgical tools.
Renovations continue to parts of the former emergency department to accommodate a new dedicated mental-health and substance-use unit that is expected to be complete in summer 2022.
In late 2020, government approved a project cost increase of $7.37 million in response to the COVID-19 pandemic to include three anterooms in the project.
The province, through Fraser Health, is providing $52.55 million and the Peace Arch Hospital Foundation is providing $38.5 million, for an updated total project cost of $91.05 million.
“Additional treatment spaces and operating rooms, as well as a dedicated area for mental health and substance use, will help us provide a more patient-centred experience to people in White Rock and surrounding communities seeking services at Peace Arch Hospital,” says Dr. Victoria Lee, president and CEO Fraser Health.
