Delta Hospital Services

Delta Council Regular Meeting March 9, 2015 Background

• 1980: 0pened as a full service hospital. • 2002: FHA budget cuts resulted in closure of acute surgical program and critical care unit and Delta Hospital downgraded from acute to sub-acute care facility.

Background

• 2003-2008: community campaign to restore services – Declaration of Dependence. • Community fund-raising gradually restored many services and added new services eg. CT scanner. • 2008: regained status as acute care facility but surgical program remained downgraded to day surgery only.

Background

• 2009 – surgical program budget cut by $1.2 million. • Since then there has been a gradual erosion of services through budget cuts and loss of professional staff – difficulty recruiting and retaining specialists eg. anesthetists.

Voicing Concerns

• In October 2014, the Delta Hospital Medical Staff Association wrote to the Minister of Health regarding an “impending medical crisis” at Delta Hospital. • Requested immediate restoration of 4 surgical acute care beds. Patient Transfers

• Operating rooms at Delta Hospital close at 3pm and weekends. • 150 patients a year transferred from Delta Hospital to other hospitals for emergency surgeries. • Increased costs (average $700 per patient transferred), time and patient stress. Orthopaedic Program

• Need for comprehensive orthopaedic program, which would include a cast clinic. • Historical connections between Delta, Richmond and Vancouver but patients are now being directed to New Westminster. • Challenging for seniors or people without cars to go for follow-up appointments. Psychiatric Beds

• No psychiatric beds at Delta Hospital. • Options – police custody, Surrey Memorial Emergency Dept. or release back to the community. • Significant drain on police resources. • Patients not getting proper treatment – cycle repeats itself. Service Inequities

• Delta is the only community in British Columbia with a population greater than 60,000 that does not have full surgical care at its local hospital. • Delta has 6% of the Fraser Health Authority population but only 1.8% of its surgical budget. Funding Disparity

• Delta Hospital’s surgical program is under- funded and has been for a long time: – Eagle Ridge Hospital surgical budget - $15 m – Ridge Meadows surgical budget - $13.1 m – Delta Hospital surgical budget - $5.1 m Demographic Changes

• Delta’s population is ageing rapidly – number of 60+ patients expected to double in next 20 years. • Economic growth and community development will bring significant number of new people to Delta in the next decade: – 2,000+ residential units under construction or proposed. – TFN 7,000+ people, 10,000 new jobs. Emergency Response

• Delta has significant industrial base – manufacturing, coal/container terminal, LNG. • Nationally significant transportation hub – road, rail, marine. • Daily movement of hazardous and dangerous goods through community. Emergency Response

• In the event of a natural disaster, Delta is extremely vulnerable to being cut-off from mainland – tunnel, bridge closures. • In terms of emergency response capabilities, Delta needs to be as self-sufficient as possible and must be able to manage emergency medical events at its own facilities. 2015 Provincial Budget

• $879 million surplus. • $3 billion over 3 years on health care. • Cost for 4 acute surgical beds - $2 million. • Represents 0.74% of Fraser Health’s annual surgical budget of $270 million. Recommendation A

That Mayor and Council support Delta Hospital Medical Staff Association’s request for 4 acute surgical beds and a cast clinic as an immediate but interim solution to the current situation through increased funding in the 2015-16 operating budget. Recommendation B

That FHA work with the Delta Division of Family Practice and the Delta Hospital Medical Staff Association on the development of a long-term community-based health care plan for Delta Hospital to guide future development and funding towards the establishment of a 20 bed surgical ward within a 150 bed hospital, including in-patient mental health services and comprehensive orthopaedic services, and that this plan be developed within a relatively short 2- 3 year timeframe.

Recommendation C

• That the Honourable Terry Lake, BC Minister of Health be requested to meet with Mayor Jackson and Delta’s CAO to discuss concerns regarding services at Delta Hospital, specifically: – that it is unacceptable to continue to underfund critical services at Delta Hospital, including the acute care surgery program, mental health services, and orthopaedic services; and

Recommendation C

- to request that a proportionate share of the $3 billion committed by the BC Government towards health care services over the next 3 years be targeted to fund service improvements at Delta Hospital that would bring it up to the same service levels as other hospitals in communities of comparable size in British Columbia.

Recommendation D

THAT Michael Marchbank, President and Chief Executive Officer of Fraser Health Authority be requested to meet with Mayor Lois E. Jackson, George V. Harvie, Chief Administrative Officer and Dr. Robert Shaw, Delta Division of Family Practice, to discuss these issues.

Recommendation E

THAT Tsawwassen First Nation be requested to provide a letter of support for Delta’s position.

Recommendation F

THAT copies of this report be provided to Fraser Health Authority, Delta Hospital Executive Director, Delta Hospital Medical Staff Association, Delta Hospital Foundation, the Friends of Delta Hospital, Delta Auxiliary Society, and the Delta Division of Family Practice as well as to the Honourable Kerry- Lynne D. Findlay, PC, QC, MP Delta-Richmond East, Jinny Sims, MP Newton-North Delta, Scott Hamilton, MLA Delta-North and Vicki Huntington, MLA Delta- South.

Closing

Delta is not asking for special treatment: simply to have the same funding and same level of hospital services as other communities of comparable size in British Columbia.