Longer wait times in the Emergency Department as we upgrade to serve you better

The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) is here to serve you. As our priority population, we are committed to providing an esteemed quality of care to our patients and families. To do this, we are constantly evaluating our current model of care and looking for ways to enhance and improve our services.

What we are doing

One significant and much-anticipated improvement will be happening on June 2, 2018

On this day SickKids will be launching a fully integrated health information system called Epic, an industry leader in electronic health record software.

This project will fundamentally change the way SickKids provides care by bringing all patient information and charting into one integrated electronic system to improve what families have identified as a difficult process to navigate to a more seamless care experience. This will be a big change for our staff and the reality is patients may experience longer than usual wait times in the Emergency Department (ED) as staff complete documentation for incoming patients.

Current status

Currently one of every three children brought to our ED doesn't need emergency care. They have ear aches, flu, colds and other common childhood ailments that can be serviced by a family doctor, paediatrician or community health centre. We kindly ask that if your child does not need require emergency care that you consult with your local health care provider.

What you can expect

Should your child require emergency care we want you to know that we anticipate longer than usual wait times during the month of June and recommend using the services of your local hospital. We apologize in advance for any delays you may experience.

When should I take my child to the Emergency Department?

Call a doctor right away if your child shows any of the following signs. If you can't reach a doctor take your child to the emergency department of your local hospital right away

• When the child has diarrhea and vomiting AND has no tears, dry mouth or is not urinating.
• When a baby under three months of age has a fever over 38.5 C or 101 F.
• When your child has difficulty breathing.
• When your child develops a rash that does not turn white when you push on it.
• When your child has a fever and is difficult to wake up or is very sleepy.

Other helpful resources

You can call these numbers anytime day or night.
Ontario Poison Centre 1-800-268-9017 or 416-813-5900
Telehealth Ontario 1-866-797-0000
Visit AboutKidsHealth for trustworthy children's health information.