Latest Work from Surrey Hospitals Foundation Creates a Healthier Outlook for Surrey Residents

Surrey is one of the most medically underfunded cities in Canada. Unfortunately, it also happens to be the fastest-growing city in the country, set to overtake Vancouver by 2030. These two facts have created a perfect storm for the city's healthcare system - but no one was talking about it. 

Although the city has more children per capita than anywhere else in Western Canada, Surrey has had a net decrease in paediatric beds over the past two decades. Where they used to have 24 beds for new moms, they now only have 16. And despite having B.C.'s highest birth rate, the city has only received four new maternity beds in the last 21 years. 

Surrey is home to some of the best medical talent in the country, however, due to lack of government funding, Surrey is also unable to treat the three leading causes of sudden death; major heart attacks, stroke, and stage three trauma. 

Insufficient infrastructure means critically ill patients are forced to leave Surrey every day to receive the urgent care they need. Last year alone, 1,683 patients left Surrey for care at surrounding hospitals. Time isn't always on their side, and the extra travel can literally mean the difference between life and death. 

We knew we had to create a campaign to catch the public's eye, the ear of BC's politicians, and donors' wallets. In the words of Surrey Hospital Foundation's (SHF's) president and CEO, Jane Adams, it was time for "All of the stakeholders involved in the provision of healthcare in British Columbia to be active participants in devising and building the right-sized health ecosystem for”.

The latest evolution of SHF’s ‘Leaving Surrey’ campaign, developed by creative agency Full Punch, introduced Surrey residents to the panic-stricken world of patients being sent out of the city. The first phase of the campaign showed first-hand how the additional trauma of leaving home affects a young girl with a life-threatening emergency. 

This latest phase of the campaign builds on the same emotional storytelling through the eyes of a heart attack victim being sent on a long ambulance journey out of Surrey to receive the surgery needed. While another story follows a woman in labour being turned away from Surrey’s hospital as she is forced to leave the city for the care she needs. 

"We want people to react in the same emotional way we all did when we were exposed to the alarming facts,” said Chris Zawada, founding partner and head of creative at Full Punch. “The residents of Surrey deserve to be treated for care at home in Surrey.” 

The campaign became the catalyst SHF and the city’s healthcare practitioners needed to publicly voice their concerns. “This year, the Surrey Hospitals Foundation took the unprecedented step of working with Full Punch to develop an advocacy campaign designed to highlight the human impact of underinvestment in Surrey’s healthcare ecosystem.” said Jane. 

And the campaign has worked. BC’s Health Minister Adrian Di, announced he would be expanding Surrey Memorial Hospital and increasing the capacity for more patient care—including two new cardiac cath labs by 2025.

“It exceeded all expectations” said Jane, speaking to the effects of the campaign developed by Full Punch. “ The campaign served as a catalyst for a wide range of affected stakeholders to speak out in support of Surrey Memorial Hospital. The result was a powerful allyship and an amplified and shared message of support. Within months of the campaign launching, the government responded by publicly acknowledging Surrey Memorial’s important life saving role for South of the Fraser residents. They announced an immediate infusion of hundreds of millions of dollars in investment and a long-term plan to redress chronic underfunding.” 

The success of this campaign means fewer residents will have to leave Surrey to receive the urgent care they need.