“Temporary” shortage of OB-GYNs is becoming regular for Surrey-White Rock expectant parents
White Rock, BC: Just over three weeks after Fraser Health warned of a “temporary” shortage of obstetrician-gynecologist physicians at Peace Arch Hospital, Monday morning the maternity ward began a second three-day closure over the holidays. The hospital delivers approximately 1,000 babies annually.
This is just the latest in a series of recent shutdowns across the Fraser Health and Interior Health regions due to medical staff shortages, including extended overnight ER closures in Mission and 100 Mile House, as well as another four-day maternity ward closure in Maple Ridge.
The Peace Arch development is something that was entirely preventable had the government listened to ample warnings from medical staff, according to Interim Leader of the Opposition and MLA for Surrey-White Rock Trevor Halford.
“Over the past year, Peace Arch doctors and nurses have consistently warned that maternity ward closures were inevitable without substantial hiring,” says Halford. “Yesterday’s closure shows these service-interruptions are likely to become a permanent feature of Peach Arch maternity care for the foreseeable future.”
Peace Arch Hospital maternity ward has encountered shutdowns since 2021, when it was closed for two weeks. When the government tried to shut the ward permanently in 2022, they only reversed course after widespread public outcry and protests.
The notion of expectant parents having to take the most joyous moment of their lives to another hospital brings undue stress, travel, and unfamiliarity during the birthing process, adds Official Opposition Critic for Health Anna Kindy.
“There are real medical consequences from not having local maternity services available, particularly for high-risk or complicated pregnancies,” says Kindy, whose career in medicine spans over 35 years. “When parents are diverted to neighbouring hospitals, a domino-effect is created for a system that is already stretched extremely thin. As I proposed in my private member’s bill on greater transparency and choice for patients, British Columbians deserve certainty through accurate information and viable alternative treatment plans.”
Much of the medical staffing shortage crisis BC is currently experiencing is a result of poor decision-making and management from the NDP government, including credentialing and licensing bottlenecks, a lack of available education seats for future nurses and doctors, and less competitive compensation comparative to neighbouring jurisdictions like Alberta and Washington. There were over 250 temporary ER closures across BC in 2025.
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