SickKids expands paediatric virtual urgent care program to reach more children and youth

Starting today, The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) is expanding eligibility to the virtual urgent care program to include all children and youth under the age of 18 who have a valid OHIP card and currently live in the virtual urgent care service region (PDF). This new phase also includes enhanced features to provide a more connected health-care experience for children, youth and their families. 

In alignment with our SickKids 2025 strategic objective to Transcend geography with virtual care, the program enables patients and families to access real-time guidance for their urgent health concern from any smart phone, tablet or computer with internet through SickKids’ website. 

“We are pleased to expand our virtual urgent care program to more children and youth in the GTA,” says Dr. Jason Fischer, Division Head of Paediatric Emergency Medicine at SickKids. “This expansion, along with other enhancements to the program, will help us continue to provide trusted, high-quality paediatric health services to families in the comfort of their homes.” 

Since its launch in April 2021, the platform has been accessed more than 7,500 times by SickKids patients. Secure virtual urgent care visits with a SickKids Emergency Department clinical team member are available by live videoconference seven days a week. Patients who receive care through a virtual urgent care visit will now have a summary of care sent to their primary care provider electronically. In addition, if patients need follow-up care, a member of the SickKids Emergency Department clinical team will refer them to either a SickKids or community provider. 

The program also features a symptom checker, which is available 24/7 to patients in the virtual urgent care service region (PDF) to help determine if a medical concern needs an emergency department visit or could be treated by a primary care provider. 

The SickKids Emergency Department is open for those who need in-person emergency care and the hospital continues to be a safe place for patients and families.