Emergency

Emergency

Humber River Health’s emergency department is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

We are committed to providing patients and their families with excellent care.

Patients are treated based on the severity of their illness. This means someone may be admitted to a room that has arrived after you. We will try to keep you updated.

If you need non-emergency medical assistance, you have many options:

Contact your primary care provider (family doctor or nurse practitioner)
If your primary care provider is not available, call Health811 at 811/TTY: 1-866-797-0007
To find a walk-in clinic near you, visit Central Healthline or call 1-888-470-2222, 8:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. 7 days a week
See the Urgent-Care Or Walk-In Clinics In Our Neighbourhood

At Triage

When you first arrive at the emergency department, you will undergo a brief assessment by a Registered Nurse. This process is called triage. It determines which patients need to be seen first. The sickest patients are treated first. If your condition is very serious, you will be seen by a doctor right away.

After triage, you will be sent to a patient care zone. These zones have specialized care teams to help speed up the assessment, diagnosis and treatment process for everyone.

At Registration

After triage, we will register you. You will provide your health card and confirm your personal information. We need this information to start your medical record.

How long do I have to wait?

We know waiting can be frustrating. Your wait depends on how sick you are and how many other people are being treated. If we are treating many critically ill or injured patients, you may have to wait longer. Wait times vary and we ask for your patience and understanding. We will do our best to see you as quickly as possible.

The amount of time you spend in the ED will depend on:

the number of tests you may need (e.g., blood work or x-rays).
whether your emergency doctor has requested a consultation with another specialist.
whether you are being admitted to the hospital and need to wait for an available bed.
If your condition changes after the triage process, please call for the nurse immediately.

We try to minimize your wait and keep you informed.

What can I expect in the treatment area?

There are different treatment areas for different conditions. We will send you to an area where a nurse will give you care specific to your condition.

The nurse:

Will ask you questions that are more detailed about your illness or injury.
Will complete an assessment of your condition.
May start some tests or treatments.
May ask you to change into a hospital gown, if needed.
Provide you with discharge instructions.

The doctor:

Will examine you.
May order tests such as X-rays, ultrasounds and blood tests.
Will review the test results and discuss a treatment plan with you.
May refer you for follow up with your doctor or a clinic.

Some treatment areas have limited space so we ask that only one visitor stay in the treatment room with you. Children may have both parents at their bedside.

If there is a sign on your family member’s door, please follow the posted instructions. We place signs in cases where we need extra safety measures against infection.

While you are in the treatment area, please respect the privacy of other patients.

Please check with the nurse before taking medicines on your own, or eating or drinking anything. These may affect the tests or care we provide.

Good hand hygiene is the most important way to control the spread of germs. You can expect staff to wash their hands before contact and after contact with you.

You can help reduce the spread of germs by washing your hands:

When you enter or exit the hospital
Before and after contact with a patient
Before and after eating and drinking
After using the washroom
After covering a cough or a sneeze

Please do not bring a lot of money or any valuables to hospital. The hospital is not responsible for any lost or stolen items.

We want you, your family and our staff to be safe while in the Emergency Department. We will not tolerate any types of abuse, including improper language and behaviour. We will ask anyone who is violent or abusive to leave.

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