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What is the Emergency Department?

Emergency Departments provide 24/7 service to people who require urgent to emergency care for a wide range of health care needs. This service is also extended to people requiring less urgent health care, although in most communities, there are alternative health care options for non urgent patient care.

What I need to know:
We promote an environment where caring, integrity, excellence, respect and responsibility are valued. 

Because it is sometimes difficult to know the seriousness of an illness, a triage nurse will see you shortly after you arrive at the Emergency Department. 

Triage means "to sort".  It is the way we decide which patients must be treated first.  A national triage scale with 5 levels (ranging from non-urgent to resuscitation) is used to rate patients' symptoms. 

Triage nursing staff receive specialized education in order to assess patients correctly and patients charts are reviewed on a regular basis to ensure correct triage levels are being assigned.

If your condition gets worse or better during your wait, please let us know at once.

Worst Comes First

Emergency is not a first-come, first-serve service. People may arrive after you, but be seen first because their health is at greater risk. 

The triage system allows us to treat all patients in a safe time frame for their conditions. 

At an Emergency Department, we cannot predict how long you will wait.  We never know when there may be an emergency, such as an accident or life-threatening illness. Unfortunately, that may mean a longer wait for our non-urgent patients. 

Options for non-urgent care

If you need to see a doctor and it's not an emergency, please consider the following options:

Telecare 811

This service is available 7-days-a-week, 24-hours-a-day.  A registered nurse will assess your condition and give you advice.

After-hours Clinics
Several After-hours Clinics are available within Horizon Health Network and Vitalité Health Network with private clinics also available in some areas to serve you.