Here’s how long emergency room patients are waiting at local hospitals
The average Ontario emergency room patient waited a record-breaking two hours and six minutes to see a doctor in May of this year.
In Waterloo region, people waited even longer.
According to Health Quality Ontario, average wait times across the province increased from 1.9 hours in April to 2.1 hours in May.
Patients who were admitted to hospital spent an average of 20.1 hours in the ER before getting a bed in a ward.
Locally, emergency room patients at Cambridge Memorial Hospital waited an average of 2.9 hours to see a doctor in May. At Grand River Hospital, the average wait time was 2.7 hours, at St. Mary’s General it was 2 hours. That’s compared to 2.8 hours at Guelph General.
Several hospitals also publish real-time wait times on their websites:
WALK-IN CLINIC WAIT TIMES
According to Medimap, a Canadian tech company that posts walk-in clinic wait-times online, clinic wait times in Kitchener are roughly in line with the rest of the province, with most being around 20 minutes.
However, Medimap vice-president of operations Teddy Wickland says that’s “highly variable depending on when and where you’re searching” in the city.
Wickland said part of Medimap’s goal is to steer patients who could be better cared for in a walk-in clinic away from ERs.
“The type of patients who should go to the emergency room are having some type of very serious, generally acute issues, it could be kidney failure, it could be a gunshot wound,” Wickland said.
“Walk-in clinics are a great way for patients to still get on-demand care that’s more appropriate for things like the sniffles if you need a COVID test, something like that.”
Ultimately, however, Wickland says technology can’t solve the larger systemic issues behind long wait times, like healthcare staffing shortages.
“There is a family doctor shortage,” Wickland said. “The only thing that can solve for that – technology can help – but is frankly, is more people.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'A beautiful soul': Funeral held for baby boy killed in wrong-way crash on Highway 401
A funeral was held on Wednesday for a three-month-old boy who died after being involved in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 in Whitby last week.
'Sophisticated' cyberattacks detected on B.C. government networks, premier says
There has been a "sophisticated" cybersecurity breach detected on B.C. government networks, Premier David Eby confirmed Wednesday evening.
Police handcuff man trying to enter Drake's Toronto mansion
Toronto police say a man was taken into custody outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion Wednesday afternoon after he tried to gain access to the residence.
Biden says he will stop sending bombs and artillery shells to Israel if they launch major invasion of Rafah
U.S. President Joe Biden said for the first time Wednesday he would halt shipments of American weapons to Israel, which he acknowledged have been used to kill civilians in Gaza, if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu orders a major invasion of the city of Rafah.
Rookie goalie Arturs Silovs to start for Canucks in Game 1 vs. Oilers
Rookie goalie Arturs Silovs will start in net for the Canucks as Vancouver kicks off a second-round series against the Edmonton Oilers Wednesday night.
Nijjar murder suspect says he had Canadian study permit in immigration firm's video
One of the Indian nationals accused of murdering British Columbia Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar says in a social media video that he received a Canadian study permit with the help of an Indian immigration consultancy.
Pfizer agrees to settle more than 10K lawsuits over Zantac cancer risk: Bloomberg News
Pfizer has agreed to settle more than 10,000 lawsuits about cancer risks related to the now discontinued heartburn drug Zantac, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the deal.
Quebec premier defends new museum on Quebecois nation after Indigenous criticism
Quebec Premier Francois Legault is defending his comments about a new history museum after he was accused by a prominent First Nations group of trying to erase their history.
U.S. presidential candidate RFK Jr. had a brain worm, has recovered, campaign says
Independent U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had a parasite in his brain more than a decade ago, but has fully recovered, his campaign said, after the New York Times reported about the ailment.