Royal Columbian Hospital - New Westminster, British Columbia

Garima M.

Came from Surrey today. My visit to Royal Columbia Hospital was satisfactory. My spouse had an appointment for a breathing test. Staffs and doctor was really helpful. The hospital was neat and clean, with proper seating arrangements for patients and visitors in the waiting area.

P N.

June 2025- Wow the renovations and changes to this hospital are amazing. Amazing care for all patients.

Past review:
What a great hospital. A big thanks to all the staff that make this place happen for patient centered care.

Charlotte W.

Most useless hospital I have ever been to. I tried to not come in as best I could to avoid having to sit and wait for hours but when I called 8-1-1 who advised me to seek medical attention, I caved in and came. I was in the emergency department waiting area for three hours before my breathing got so bad that I felt like I was choking. Not one nurse asked if I was okay. There was a lady near me who was also in excruciating pain and not once did they check on her. Instead, people with what looked like light sprains where able to go through with no issue. Sign says patients can’t ask what the wait times are like, absolutely ridiculous. I was told over and over “a nurse will be with you shortly” then wasn’t seen for three hours, then was told the same thing again two hours later and it took a volunteer asking if someone could help me to get seen. Nurse comes out and says “stop breathing so fast, you’ll just make it worse” and had the worst attitude with me. Then she put me in a room and didn’t say if anyone was coming to see me so I just sat there alone in pain. I told them I was unable to swallow and barely breathe and they still tried to give me pills, both full ones and ones crushed up in pudding. Neither worked. The nurses all have an attitude as well so that was off putting. I would appreciate that if I ever had the displeasure of coming here again, that the nurses just tell the truth and say there’s a long wait time instead of lying that someone will see me shortly. Other patients were being 10x nicer to me than any of the staff were. IMPROVEMENT is very much needed. If I could rate the hospital in the negatives it would at least be a negative 5 due to the fact the staff were so rude and how long it took for them to pay attention to people who were in immense amounts of pain. Never again will I voluntarily come here, I would rather die 🩷 Do better!!

Also would like to add that majority of the staff were sitting on their phones instead of helping people….booooo

Melissa M.

This hospital should have it more together. Went into emergency late last night. Signage is terrible and so confusing. Finally got to the check in area, made eye contact with the staff member behind the desk (who was scrolling through her cell phone and twirling around in her chair). After taking my info, she told me to take a seat and wait to be called for triage. Waited nearly an hour and still there was nobody doing triage. Meanwhile the staff person behind check-in desk was still spinning in circles in her chair and glued to her cell phone… ended up leaving and going to a different hospital where I was treated as urgent and ushered directly into an emergency bed, despite their waiting room. This is the difference between competent and incompetent care. Where was the triage nurse? Nowhere to be found. Meanwhile, urgent patients are left sitting around in silence with no communication. Royal columbian needs to do much better, from all fronts. Fix your signage—make it clearer where to go upon check-in, which desk is for triage etc, and maybe a sign laying out what patients can expect/what process they will go through (check-in, triage etc). Then, staff your hospital sufficiently and train staff (even the unregulated front desk staff) to be aware and responsive to their surroundings. They are part of a care team and don’t seem to recognize that. Do better.

Asma I.

This morning, I had an Iron IV treatment at the Medical Daycare Unit at Royal Columbian Hospital, and I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to the amazing team in the unit. Specially Nurse *Ivan Nikolic*and Nurse *Mandeep Bains*for their exceptional care.

Nurse Ivan was incredibly professional, compassionate, and reassuring from the moment I arrived. His attentiveness and kindness throughout the process made me feel safe and well cared for.

A special thank you to Nurse Mandeep Bains — I truly believe she saved my life. After experiencing a serious reaction, her quick, calm, and expert response made all the difference. I’ll never forget how she handled the situation with such confidence and care.

All the nurses including Rosa as well went above and beyond to ensure my safety and well-being. I’m feeling much better, and I’m incredibly grateful for the care I received.

Proud having an amazing team in our medical fields around us, and Thank you from my heart again !

,

Emeti K.

Tonight, starting at 1:40 AM, I had a nosebleed and it wouldn't stop, so I called 9:11. The ambulance arrived. After an hour, the bleeding still wouldn't stop, so I was taken to the hospital. Everything was fine so far; the staff were attentive and punctual. I was given a seat at the hospital, and it had been going on for 2:30 hours. I was told I would have to wait about 5 hours. They only had one doctor, and it was normal to wait that long without anything being done. Around 4:00 AM, I asked for a taxi and went home. A few months ago, when I went to the same hospital's emergency room, I waited 8 hours and finally left. I think this country's biggest problem is healthcare. Unfortunately, it has become chronic. No one is doing anything to solve this problem. I'm 68 years old and fortunately, I don't have any health problems. May God help those who do.The situation is dire.The moment I removed the clip from my nose, the bleeding .started. Now, my nose is bleeding from both sides. It started at 1:38 AM, and now it's 5:29 AM. Therefore, if anything happens to me, everyone in the system is individually responsible. Attention, to those concerned... Me later in the day. (Photos 2 and 3) Unfortunately, I fell ill at the train station. First, a young woman, then two police officers, came to help. They wanted to take me to the hospital and call an ambulance. I went back home to avoid another five or 10-hour wait. I love this country so much, and I never want to leave. If I ever return to my other country, it will be solely for health concerns. The social welfare state is responsible for ensuring the health and safety of individuals. I share my experiences and critical thoughts because I wonder if someone will question the system and contribute to finding solutions. I wonder if people in truly difficult situations waiting for help in the emergency room will wait less. I want to be a responsive person.

Thank you for your response. I believe I've clearly expressed my experiences and thoughts. A few months ago, after waiting nearly eight hours at the emergency room, my husband and I left when they told me there were no doctors available to see me. However, it's quite easy to see the accuracy of what I wrote about the (zero stars) emergency room For a journalist, visiting hospital emergency rooms would make for a good series of articles. All I can say to the Ministry of Health and the authorities is, "If you can't find a solution to this chronically poor healthcare system, you are part of the problem."

Nelly T.

I had a surgery on December 12, 2024 at Royal Columbian Hospital. Laminectomy tumor removal T12 - L1 was my surgery performed by neurosurgeon Michael Nikolakis. I don't have enough words to express my gratitude to him. God blessed me with this doctor because he is the best. Dr. Nikolakis is a very professional neurosurgeon, very knowledgeable and very kind and talented, this is a doctor with a big soul. As well I want to say a big thank you to all nurses who took care of me during my recovery time at hospital. All of them are very kind, professional and nice. Thank you to nurse Ravneet who took care of me on my last day. She prepared me very well before going home. She is a very nice and positive, professional and knowledgeable nurse. Thank you to all physiotherapists for your help to improve my walking abilities, especially thank you to Karl Stummer who as well ordered all the equipment for me from Canadian Red Cross that I can use at home to be safe. Thank you all for everything, may God bless you for your kind care and hard work. ❤️

Galileo G.

I heard my family‘s live threatening situation and we were transported to Royal Columbia Hospital daycare intensive heart care unit in the registered nurse. Mr. Victor was extremely helpful, extremely professional and he gave us a lot of time to explain everything about the condition and which made huge difference and have a lot of hope based on facts and his advice and his experience of doing this thing all around has been Phenomenon and we highly appreciate his help and very thankful to the Royal Jubillee Hospital, doctors and nurse and the medical staff who help us to get through this very difficult situation everyone was very helpful. Everyone was very very kind and we are unable to and especially with Home. We asked large number of questions and he answered every question to this satisfaction in fact, thank you, Victor and thank you all thank you so much.