LHSC warn of long wait times at Children’s Hospital emergency department

A graphic depicting a wait time of five hours or more at the emergency department of Children's Hospital in London, Ont. (Source: London Health Science Centre)

The London Health Science Centre (LHSC) issued a warning to parents on Wednesday regarding longer than normal wait times for non-urgent concerns at the emergency department of Children’s Hospital.

According to a tweet from LHSC, the emergency department at Children’s Hospital is experiencing “higher than normal” volumes of patients.

For non-urgent matters, they anticipate wait times of five hours or more.

LHSC advises patients to “come prepared to wait,” and ask patients to pack a snack, bottle of water, book, phone charger and headphones in anticipation of the longer wait times.

As much of the province grapples with healthcare staffing shortages, it’s not just Children’s Hospital being impacted, but also the emergency departments at University Hospital and Victoria Hospital.

LHSC also says that due to “high levels of patient activity” at both emergency departments, some patients may also face significantly long wait times as those in most urgent need will be seen first.

Earlier this month, wait times at LHSC emergency departments had reached an all-time high of 20 hours.

For non emergency needs, LHSC strongly recommends patients to considering the following options:

• Call your family doctor, nurse practitioner, or their on-call service
• Visit a walk-in or urgent care clinic
• Call Telehealth Ontario and speak to a nurse for health-related advice at 1-866-797-0000

Non-urgent needs include:

• Scrapes
• Cuts
• Sprains
• Simple fractures or broken bones
• Earaches
• Fevers
• Coughs and colds

Despite the longer than normal wait times, LHSC advises that in the case of an emergency, to not delay seeking care and to call 9-1-1 immediately or go to an emergency department.