Emergency
The emergency department receives people with an urgent physical or mental health problem at any time that requires assessment, stabilization and treatment due to their state of health.
If necessary, go to the emergency room nearest you.
You don't know if your condition requires a visit to the emergency room
You can contact the Info-Santé service by phone at 811. The nurse will give you health advice and indicate resources or professionals who can meet your needs. She will advise you on whether or not you need to see a doctor in the emergency room.
You can also refer to this simplified guide Need for Health Services?
When you arrive at the emergency room
As soon as you arrive at the emergency room, a nurse will assess your health. This assessment is part of good medical practice to ensure quality care and to detect the most urgent cases that require immediate intervention as early as possible. Based on rigorous criteria based on the Canadian Triage and Severity Scale, the nurse scores on a five-level scale:
It should be noted that only physical or psychological conditions determine the classification, age having no impact. Users arriving by ambulance are assessed and classified in the same way as ambulant users.
Why can the wait time be so long?
The waiting time depends on the number of people in the waiting room, but also on the condition of the people being kept under observation. This is because some patients require more care than others, given their health conditions. The doctor must then make sure that their condition is stabilized before seeing another patient. They must also reassess their condition on a regular basis. If there is a change in your health while you wait, notify the nurse.
Visiting a loved one waiting in the emergency room
To find out the instructions in effect for emergency room visits, consult the Visiting Schedules section.