Our Emergency Departments (EDs) at both University and Victoria Hospitals, are experiencing continued high levels of patient activity. This is resulting in some patients facing significantly long waits as the most critically ill will be seen first.
We kindly ask for your continued patience and strongly encourage those with non-life-threatening illnesses or injuries to consider the following options before coming to the ED:
First, call your family doctor, nurse practitioner or their on-call service. If they are not available or you do not have one, consider visiting a walk-in or urgent care clinic.
Please note that the Urgent Care Centre may also be experiencing high patient volumes but remains the appropriate level of care for many non-emergency concerns.
Virtual Urgent Care might also be appropriate for you (or a family member) if you have a medical issue that is NOT life-threatening but requires urgent medical attention and you’re unable to access timely care through a primary care provider. Adult and paediatric appointments are available.
For health-related advice from a Registered Nurse available 24/7, call Health 811 (formerly TeleHealth Ontario) at 1-866-797-0000.
Non-emergency medical assistance includes treatment for illnesses and injuries such as:
- Scrapes
- Cuts
- Sprains
- Simple fractures or broken bones
- Earaches
- Fevers
- Coughs and colds
For serious medical injuries and conditions, do NOT delay seeking care. Call 911 or go to your nearest Emergency Department.
“We continue to see all patients who present to our EDs, but patients will experience varying wait times depending on the seriousness of their condition,” says Dr. Christie MacDonald, Citywide Chief and Western Division Chair, Department of Emergency Medicine at London Health Sciences Centre. “If you’re coming to be treated for something that’s less acute – like an earache or a rash that isn’t accompanied by high fever, shortness of breath or signs of infection – you will receive the care you need, but you might have a long wait. We understand that can be a frustrating experience, which is why we are encouraging our community to first consider an alternative option when seeking non-emergency medical care.”
