"Surrey Memorial Hospital delivers first-class health care, but we recognize with a rapidly growing community that access to this care is becoming difficult for a great number of people," said Health Minister Adrian Dix. "We made a commitment to British Columbians to address this need and today we are taking the first planning step in making sure people living in this region have better access to quality care."

SURREY – BC government  is taking the first step in planning for a new hospital that would offer improved care for families living in Surrey, Health Minister Adrian Dix announced this week.

"Surrey Memorial Hospital delivers first-class health care, but we recognize with a rapidly growing community that access to this care is becoming difficult for a great number of people," said Dix. "We made a commitment to British Columbians to address this need and today we are taking the first planning step in making sure people living in this region have better access to quality care."

The Ministry of Health, together with Fraser Health, is funding a concept plan for a new hospital in Surrey. The concept plan is first step in planning for a hospital. It lays out the need for a specific project and identifies potential locations. Concept planning is a key part of the process that ensures that the needs of the community are identified and addressed. A request for proposals is being released seeking a consultant to begin this work.

"With the continued growth of the community in the coming years, an additional hospital in Surrey will provide an opportunity to expand our care services to reflect the needs of the people living and working here," said Fraser Health Board chair Jim Sinclair. "We know the need for health care continues to increase and this expansion will ensure people can access these services when they need them."

Once government completes the review and approval of a concept plan, the ministry's next stage in the planning process would be to move forward with a business plan. The concept plan stage will take approximately one year to complete.

"I welcome this first step by the provincial government to bring a new hospital to Surrey," said Surrey Mayor Linda Hepner. "The staff at Surrey Memorial Hospital do an incredible job in caring for our community, but they are clearly stretched. With the growth Surrey is experiencing, a new hospital is clearly needed if we are to ensure our residents have timely access to medical care and services."

Overall timelines for the hospital project would vary depending on each stage of completion, with new hospital builds ranging from between six to 10 years from concept plan to project completion. All new hospitals in B.C. are planned to a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold standard.

Quick Facts:

* Surrey is the second-largest city in British Columbia, with a population of over 500,000, and growing.

* By 2041, Surrey is projected to surpass Vancouver as the largest city in B.C.

* In 2013-14, Surrey Memorial Hospital saw 117,562 emergency room visits, provided care to 28,859 inpatient and 10,067 surgical day-care cases, delivered 4,168 newborns and had 155,119 visits to ambulatory care.

* In 2016-17, the Family Birthing Unit delivered 4,474 babies.

* As a regional hospital for Fraser Health, as well as the home hospital for one of B.C.'s fastest-growing communities, Surrey Memorial Hospital is the second-largest hospital in British Columbia, with the province's busiest emergency department.

* With 452 employees at the Jim Pattison Outpatient Care and Surgical Centre and 4,215 employees at Surrey Memorial Hospital, they are among the leading employers in Surrey and contribute significantly to the community.

* A new hospital in Surrey may relieve pressure on Surrey Memorial Hospital, and could potentially offer a range of services, such as day-care/short-stay surgeries, outpatient and pediatric care, speciality seniors' care, pre- and post-transplant care, as well as training and education for health professionals.