Longer than usual wait times are being reported at the emergency department at Children’s Hospital in London.
Late Wednesday afternoon, the London Health Sciences Centre tweeted that it was experiencing longer than normal wait times at the emergency department that specializes in treating sick kids.
The hospital said families with children experiencing non-emergent, or non-urgent medical symptoms, may be waiting over five hours to see a physician.
“Please come prepared to wait. Pack a snack, water, etc.,” LHSC said in a tweet.
Those in need of non-emergent medical care are advised to call their family doctor, nurse practitioner or their on-call service first. If these options are not available, families may want to consider attending a walk-in or urgent care clinic instead. Those experiencing life-threatening symptoms or injuries should call 911 or go to their closest emergency department.
“We kindly ask for continued patience when facing longer wait times for non-emergency medical care,” a statement on the LHSC’s website read.
Last week, the LHSC reported wait times of over 20 hours at its adult emergency department for non-emergent or non-urgent issues. The hospital has issued several alerts about long wait times in the last few months.
