Photographs obtained by CTV News offer a rare look inside the overcrowding at Surrey Memorial Hospital’s ER – taken as B.C.’s Health Minister was touting a new facility's benefits at a press conference right next door.

The pictures, taken Monday, show stretchers lining the hallways of the emergency department and patients hooked to IVs with nurses tending to them – a situation the hospital says is a temporary surge in patients, but the nurses say is a day-to-day reality.

“It’s been really chaotic,” said Gail Conlin, a nurse at Surrey Memorial who is also the union steward. “When you have overcrowding and patients waiting, there’s always an opportunity for them to deteriorate.”

The BC Nurses Union says there were 16 patients on stretchers in the back hall, and 70 patients waiting for beds on Monday.

That’s a daily problem, said Conlin, who added, “There’s no surge.”

At the same time, Health Minster Terry Lake was opening the new Critical Care Tower, which is part of the hospital’s $512 million expansion.

“It’s a really big day, not just for health care in B.C. but for all of B.C., because this will help British Columbians,” Lake told assembled guests and media.

The minister wasn’t available for an interview Thursday. Surrey Memorial Hospital’s interim director Lakh Bagri said the hospital was caught unawares by a surge of patients in the past three weeks.

The hospital, which usually sees between 260 and 270 patients a day, is seeing about 400, he said.

“Surges are hard to predict,” said Bagri, adding that the hospital isn’t sure why numbers are higher, but that staff are looking into it. “To alleviate the pressure, we’re opening up new beds in the main campus.”

Bagri said the increase in patients was 33 per cent – it’s actually about 54 per cent, a more significant increase.

Fraser Health is under review by the provincial government after three years of coming in over budget, as well as some high-profile hospital congestion problems, including having to take over the Tim Hortons at Royal Columbian Hospital to handle an increase in patients.

Ministerial staff said to expect that review to be completed by the end of June.