MINISTER RELEASES REPORT ON SURREY MEMORIAL HOSPITAL

SURREY – Patient care in B.C. will improve as a result of recommendations from a review of practices in Surrey Memorial Hospital’s emergency and obstetric wards, Health Services Minister Shirley Bond said today as she released the Cochrane report and outlined a course of actions.

In November 2004, several patients complained publicly about the quality of care they had received through Surrey Memorial’s family birthing unit and the emergency department. Former Health Services Minister Colin Hansen called for a review by Dr. D. D. Cochrane, who is chair of B.C.’s Patient Safety Task Force and VP Medical Affairs, Quality, Safety and Risk Management for the Provincial Health Services Authority, as well as a practicing neurosurgeon.

“We are grateful to Dr. Cochrane and to the health professionals and managers at Surrey Memorial who have contributed to this report,” said Bond. “I received the full report just prior to Christmas, and Dr. Cochrane assured me that Surrey patients could have confidence in the quality of care they were receiving through this facility.”

“Individual patient concerns were taken seriously,” Bond said. “We know that every year tens of thousands of patients receive high quality care from the dedicated doctors, nurses and other staff on the front lines of Surrey Memorial Hospital. Our goal is to build on the good work that has already been done and assist health care providers in their goal of providing the best possible care for patients.”

While the report confirmed that the infection rate in women undergoing caesareans sections was within the acceptable range, there were some areas of clinical care where improvements could be made. The minister outlined a series of actions being taken to improve care for patients both regionally and across the province. Fraser Health, the regional health authority within which the Surrey Memorial Hospital resides, has implemented many of the report’s recommendations already. Within Surrey Memorial Hospital, these actions are:

· Strengthening clinical protocols in both the emergency department and the maternity unit.

· Expediting the recruitment of additional health professionals in both the emergency department and maternity unit to address the needs of the growing population in the Surrey area.

· Strengthening Fraser Health’s structure for the reporting and monitoring of and accountability for quality and patient safety.

Provincewide actions resulting from the recommendations will include:

· Establishing a provincial infection control network to create provincewide standards and monitoring across all health authorities.

· Enhancing the provincewide system for reporting and monitoring obstetrical complications occurring after mothers and babies are discharged home.

· Standardizing practices for patients being cared for in the emergency department.

Bond noted that issues brought forward by patients must be acted on quickly. Dr. Cochrane’s role as chair of the patient safety task force positioned him to address the Surrey patients’ concerns within a four-week period. Additionally, British Columbia’s health structure is well designed to respond quickly to emerging issues, and to take a co-ordinated approach to transferring successful processes provincewide.

“Excellence in maternity care is a priority for this government and for me personally,” said Bond. “As a parent, I can empathize with the patients who came forward to tell their stories, and I want to assure each and every one of them that from their experiences and the subsequent review, we will be implementing improved safeguards to help ensure that every patient in B.C. has the best possible health outcome.”

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To view the Cochrane report visit: http://www.healthservices.gov.bc.ca/cpa/mediasite/surrey_memorial_hospital_report-04-12-20.pdf online.

1 backgrounder(s) attached.
Media contact:	Carol Carman Executive Director, Communications Ministry of Health Services 250 952-1881 250 889-1121	Helen Carkner Communications Fraser Health Authority 604 450-7881 (pager)

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