Service impacts to MGH’s Emergency Department and other services starting Friday, November 11

Our technical upgrades are now complete. Thank you for your patience and understanding. Regular service has resumed for our Virtual Emergency Department and E-Booking Portal for Minor Injuries.

Last updated: Sunday, November 13 2022

Due to planned technological upgrades required ahead of our move to the Ken and Marilyn Thomson Patient Care Centre, Michael Garron Hospital’s (MGH) Stavro Emergency Department will experience significant service and wait time delays beginning at 5 p.m. on Friday, November 11, 2022 and lasting through the weekend.

These upgrades will also impact our service offerings and/or hours of operations for our E-Booking Portal for Minor Injuries, MGH Clinical Assessment Centre, Health Access Taylor-Massey in Crescent Town and our Community Outreach Centre in Thorncliffe Park.

Please see below for detailed information about these service impacts and alternate options for care.

MGH Emergency Department

Service and wait time delays in MGH’s Emergency Department will begin at 5 p.m. on Friday, November 11, 2022. These delays are expected to last between 24 and 36 hours.

The Emergency Department will remain open and will prioritize patients according to the severity of illness and/or injuries. As always, the sickest patients will be seen first. Individuals who require care for an urgent but non-life threatening health concern are encouraged to consider using alternate care providers to receive the care they need in a timely manner. Alternate care options include:

• Urgent Care Centres
• Walk-in Clinics
• Toronto’s Virtual Emergency Department
• IamSick.ca – Find healthcare providers by location at any time of day 
• Other Emergency Departments in Toronto located at North York General Hospital, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and the Scarborough Health Network
• On-call Primary Care Providers: Individuals who have a primary care provider, such as a family physician or nurse practitioner, may contact their provider’s office to see if an on-call provider is available for urgent care after-hours.

We encourage utilizing these or other options for care where medically appropriate. If you still choose to come to MGH’s Emergency Department during this time, please be prepared to wait and let a staff member at the triage desk or nursing station know if your condition changes and/or worsens. More information about what to expect when coming to MGH’s Emergency Department can be found here.

We will share updates on this upgrade on our website and social media channels. Please note: Due to ongoing high patient volumes and demand for urgent care, patients visiting MGH’s Emergency Department after the technological upgrade may still experience longer-than-normal wait times. More information about these increased patient volumes can be found here.

MGH’s E-Booking Portal for Minor Injuries

MGH’s E-Booking Portal for Minor Injuries will be closed on Friday, November 11 and Saturday, November 12, 2022. Appointments will not be available during this time. Service will resume on Sunday, November 13, 2022.

MGH’s Clinical Assessment Centre

The MGH Clinical Assessment Centre will have reduced hours on Friday, November 11, 2022. It will be open by walk-in and appointment from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. (last walk-in at 2:45 p.m.).  Learn more about the services available at our MGH Clinical Assessment Centre.

Health Access Taylor-Massey

The following services will be unavailable at Health Access Taylor-Massey, a healthcare, community and social services centre in Crescent Town where MGH is a partner, on Friday, November 11, 2022:

• COVID-19 PCR tests, including pick-up and drop-off of take-home test kits
• COVID-19 treatment
• Mental health counselling
• Preventative cancer screening, including Pap tests and referrals for fecal immunochemical tests and mammograms
• Bivalent COVID-19 vaccines
• Flu vaccines

All other services scheduled for Friday, November 11, 2022 at Health Access Taylor-Massey remain available. Learn more about Health Access Taylor-Massey, including hours and services.

Community Outreach Centre in Thorncliffe Park

The following services will be unavailable at our Community Outreach Centre in Thorncliffe Park on Friday, November 11, 2022:

• COVID-19 PCR tests, including pick-up and drop-off of take-home test kits
• COVID-19 treatment

Toronto Public Health will continue to offer vaccines at Thorncliffe Park Community Hub (45 Overlea Blvd.), the physical space where the Community Outreach Centre is located, on Friday, November 11, 2022. If you need a COVID-19 PCR test or treatment assessment, you can visit our MGH Clinical Assessment Centre or another Clinical Assessment Centre or testing site near you on this day. Learn more about our Community Outreach Centres in East Toronto.

For timely updates, please stay tuned to our website and our social media channels. Thank you for your understanding and patience.