Emergency Department

About Our Emergency Department

Groves Memorial Community Hospital emergency department is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

When you arrive, you will need to follow a 3-step process:

Step 1: Take a seat in one of the RED chairs
Step 2: A staff member will be with you shortly

This Triage approach allows priority to be given to those patients whose ailments are most severe. The time you see the Doctor is not based on your arrival time but on how sick you are.

Should your condition worsen or improve while waiting, please notify the Nurse immediately and your condition will be reassessed.

If you need non-emergency medical assistance, you have many options:

Contact your primary care provider (family doctor or nurse practitioner)
If your primary care provider is not available, call Telehealth Ontario at
1-866-797-0000 or dial 8-1-1
Visit your nearest walk-in clinic, click here to learn more about your options
Connect with an emergency department doctor through secure video chat by requesting a virtual appointment. By calling 1-844-227-3844 or by visiting urgentcareontario.ca

For a full list of health care resources, click here.

What to Bring

To allow your visit to the Emergency Department flow smoothly, it is important to bring the following items with you:

Valid Ontario Health Card or proof of other health insurance.
A list of allergies, medications and herbal supplements (i.e. vitamins).
Please bring medications and herbal supplements with you in the original container. As an alternative, you can ask your pharmacy to prepare a current, medication profile to bring with you to ER.
Current home address and next of kin information.
If your injury or accident is work-related please bring your Workplace Safety and Insurance Board claim number and Social Insurance Number.

Why am I Waiting in the Emergency Department?

Deciding When to Come to the ED with your child

It's not always easy to decide if your child really needs to come to the Emergency Department (ED). We understand that you are worried when your child is sick or injured and may decide to come to the ED. Many visits to the ED are due to minor illnesses that can be easily managed in a doctor's office or clinic. Family doctors know their patients best, and have the skills and resources to manage most problems. Click here to read more.

UHN Virtual ED Visit

Book a Virtual ED Visit

Toronto's Virtual Emergency Department (ED) is a virtual urgent care program supported by Ontario Health. It brings together nurse practitioners from the University Health Network and Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre to provide a unified virtual urgent care service that is available to all Ontarians.

Toronto's Virtual Emergency Department is open daily from 1:00 pm to 9:00 pm EST. If all appointments are full or you feel you can't wait, go to your nearest Emergency Department or Urgent Care Centre in person.

What is a virtual visit?

During a virtual visit, you do not come to the hospital to meet in person. Instead, you speak with your care team using a smartphone, tablet, computer or regular phone.

Who can have a virtual visit in the Emergency Department?

To book a virtual visit to the Emergency Department, you must:

be 18 years of age or older
have an urgent medical condition that is not life-threatening
be physically located in Ontario at the time of the appointment

If you have a family doctor or primary care provider, we recommend speaking with them first. If you are not able to access your Primary Care Provider OR you do not have a provider, Virtual Emergency Department visits may be right for you.

Examples of symptoms and conditions that are urgent but not life-threatening:

Bites & Stings
Body Aches
Rashes
Skin Infection
Cough
Sore Throat
Nasal Congestion

Sinus Infection
Fever
Frostbite/cold injury
Diarrhea
Headache
Nail Infection

Painless red eye
Eyelid redness or bump
Nausea
Scabies
Lice
Sprains and Minor Injuries

Important:
If you are in severe distress or experiencing a medical emergency, please call 911 or go to your nearest Emergency Department.

If your symptoms worsen while you are waiting for a virtual appointment, visit your nearest Emergency Department in person, or call 911 for assistance.

Virtual Emergency Department Visits are not meant to address chest pain, breathing difficulties, heart palpitations, stroke, labour or ruptured membranes, neck stiffness/altered consciousness, inability to walk or new neurological symptoms. If you have these symptoms, please call 911 or go to your nearest Emergency Department.

To learn more about UHN Virtual ED Visits, please click here.