Emergency Department

Last updated: March 22, 2023

Michael Garron Hospital's (MGH) Stavro Emergency Department offers urgent care for individuals experiencing acute illness or injury and who need emergency medical assistance.

We are one of the busiest single-site Emergency Departments in Ontario. Like many other hospitals across the province, our Emergency Department is also seeing higher than usual patient volumes at this time.

As a result, our team has taken measures to help ensure we can continue to provide high-quality, patient-centred care as quickly as possible. This includes increasing staffing in our Emergency Department. However, patients may still experience longer than usual wait times.

To help ensure all patients can receive the urgent care they need in a timely manner, please review all information on this page before visiting our Emergency Department if you are able to.

If you need in-person urgent care in our Emergency Department, we encourage you to read these frequently asked questions to help ensure you come prepared and that our teams are able to support you as safely and quickly as possible.

If you are experiencing an urgent, non-life threatening health issue, please consider one of the resources on the Places to Get Care in East Toronto webpage. Urgent, non-life threatening health issues may include mild cold, flu and COVID-19 symptoms; minor cuts and burns; and sprains, fractures and small broken bones.

SERVICES

In addition to our 24-hour Emergency Department, we offer virtual and booked in-person services to better serve our patients. Please review the options below to determine if one of these services is right for you.

• Virtual Emergency Department: Book a same-day virtual care (online) appointment for individuals aged three months of age and older who are experiencing an urgent but non-life threatening illness, injury or other health issue.
• E-Booking Portal for Minor Injuries: Book a same-day or next-day in-person appointment at the MGH Emergency Department for a minor acuity (musculoskeletal) injury. This includes sprains, fractures or a possible broken bone in the upper body (finger, wrist or hand) or lower body (toe, ankle or leg). 
• Child and Youth Emergency Zone: A family-friendly space beside the MGH Emergency Department for children and youth aged 17 and under in East Toronto who need urgent or acute medical care when their paediatrician or family doctor is not available. This includes assessing and treating illness, including cold, flu and COVID-19 symptoms, as well as injury, pain or mental health crises.

LOCATION

The entrance to our Emergency Department is located off of Mortimer Street under the Emergency sign.

HOURS

The Emergency Department is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

TRIAGE AND WAIT TIMES

Your health, safety and comfort are very important to us. When you arrive to our Emergency Department, an experienced triage nurse will triage all patients using the Canadian Triage Acuity System (CTAS) to ensure that patients who need urgent attention are seen first.

If your condition changes or gets worse while you are waiting to receive care, please alert someone at the triage desk or a nursing station.

Our team does their best to ensure wait times to receive care are as short as possible. Individuals who need diagnostic imaging (e.g. CT scan, X-ray, MRI, ultrasound), blood work and other services may need to wait for those services.

WHAT TO BRING

We understand urgent care is not pre-planned. However, if you are able to, please bring the following items with you to the Emergency Department:

• Health card (OHIP card)
• Photo ID that includes your current address
• Your phone number
• List of your allergies and any medications that you are taking, including prescriptions or over-the-counter medications
• A support person, such as a family member or friend, who can help with sharing your medical history or providing translations
  • We allow one support person with every patient in our Emergency Department

Despite our team’s best efforts, some visits may take some time. If you are able to and are well enough, please also consider bringing a book or tablet and charger which may help pass the time.

We appreciate your kindness and patience as our team does their best to provide urgent care for patients as safely and quickly as possible.

Paediatric care

MGH’s Emergency Department is a proud member of Kids Health Alliance and are committed to providing coordinated, consistent and high-quality care for children and youth through both our main Emergency Department and the Child and Youth Emergency Zone.

Our Child and Youth Emergency Zone is open daily from 9 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. During these hours, patients aged 17 and under can register at the doors to the immediate right of the Emergency Department entrance.

All children and youth will be assessed by an experienced triage nurse using the Canadian Triage Acuity System (CTAS) to ensure those patients who need urgent attention are seen first.

Our Child and Youth Emergency Zone provides paediatric-friendly examination rooms and waiting area. A Child Life Specialist is available during afternoon hours.