VCH medical imaging teams minimize flood impact

The broken water main and subsequent flood at Surrey Memorial Hospital was by any measure, a disaster. What was not a disaster, was the fast action of staff—including VCH medical imaging teams—to minimize impact and maintain services.

The Emergency Department and Operating Rooms were heavily affected and credit goes to our colleagues at Fraser Health for responding so quickly to address patient safety.

Among the unsung heroes however, are the VCH teams based at Surrey Memorial Hospital and JP Outpatient Facility responsible for diagnostic imaging as part of Lower Mainland Integrated Medical Imaging.

The flood washed through the entire Medical Imaging Department rendering much of the equipment inoperable—the extent of the damage unlikely to be known until the equipment has dried out. This devastating impact has gone largely unnoticed thanks to the tremendous effort that the team of medical imaging staff, radiologists and leaders who have undertaken to maintain service and support patient care amidst the chaos.

MI staff moved quickly to create more capacity at the JP Outpatient Facility so that inpatients could continue to get their imaging. They found space outside of Medical Imaging to set up a temporary x-ray and ultrasound unit for inpatients too sick to move to the JP Outpatient Facility and deployed portable x-ray and ultrasound units to the inpatient wards to enable bedside procedures.

This outstanding effort speaks to the commitment and dedication of these staff members. Sincere thanks to all of the VCH employees impacted, for an outstanding response.

The Emergency Department and Medical Imaging departments re-opened on Monday Dec. 3.

Photos and video clips of the flood are posted on the Fraser Health Facebook page.