Emergency Wait Times in Ontario: Taking an Older Parent to the ER

Ontario Health publishes how long patients spend in each Ontario hospital's emergency department on its Time Spent in Emergency Departments page. These are past results, not a live queue, and in an emergency you should call 911 rather than compare times. When you're not sure whether to go at all, call Health811 (811, TTY 1-866-797-0007) for fast, free health advice, 24 hours a day.

Taking an older parent to the ER is its own kind of exhausting. The waits are long, the room is loud, and your parent may be frightened, in pain or confused.

You can't make the wait shorter. You can make it safer and make the visit count. Here's how.

When should you call 911, go to the ER, or call Health811?

Call 911 for anything that could be life-threatening: chest pain, signs of a stroke (a drooping face, a weak arm, slurred speech), trouble breathing, a serious fall or head injury, or someone who can't be woken properly. Paramedics start care on the way.

Sudden confusion deserves its own line. In an older adult it can be delirium, often caused by an infection, dehydration or a medication, and it is a reason to be seen promptly, not to wait and see.

How do you check ER wait times in Ontario?

Use Ontario Health's emergency department times, which report how long patients spent in each hospital's emergency department at various stages and by how sick they were. Some hospitals also post their own estimates on their websites.

Our opinion: for a frail parent, the hospital that already knows them usually beats a shorter wait across town. Their records, specialists and past scans are there. The exception is a real emergency, where 911 and the paramedics decide.

Our hospital directories list every emergency department by city, for example in Toronto, Ottawa, Hamilton and Oakville.

What should you bring to the ER for an older parent?

Bring one page that tells the team who your parent is when they're well. Triage nurses and doctors see your parent at their worst; they need the baseline from you.

• Medication list, including doses and supplements, or the bottles in a bag.
• Health card and any hospital cards.
• Conditions and allergies, and the family doctor's name.
• A line on what's normal: "Usually walks with a cane, lives alone, manages her own pills, no memory problems."
• Glasses, hearing aids, dentures and their cases. Labelled.
• Phone charger, snacks and water for you, and something warm for them.
• Any advance care plan or substitute decision-maker details.

Our free health passport builds most of this into one printable page. Fill it in now, on a calm day, and keep a copy by the door.

How do you ask for the geriatric emergency nurse?

Ask at triage: "Is there a GEM nurse on today?" Ontario's Geriatric Emergency Management (GEM) network links specially trained nurses and other staff in many of the province's emergency departments who focus on older adults living with frailty.

A GEM nurse can look at the whole picture (mobility, memory, medications, support at home) and help plan what happens after the emergency. Not every hospital has one on every shift. Asking costs nothing.

Should someone stay with your parent?

Yes, if at all possible, and especially if your parent has dementia, hearing loss or gets confused in unfamiliar places. We'd go further: don't send a parent with dementia to the ER alone, ever, if family can be there.

You're the one who notices that Dad is more confused than usual, that he hasn't had water in hours, or that his hearing aid battery died. Take turns with siblings if the wait runs long, and hand over in person so nothing gets lost.

What should you ask before your parent is sent home?

Many older adults go home from the emergency department rather than being admitted. Before you leave, ask:

1. "What do you think caused this, and what should we watch for?"
2. "Did any medications change, start or stop?"
3. "Who should we follow up with, and by when?"
4. "Can they manage safely at home tonight, and should Ontario Health atHome be involved?"
5. "Who do we call if it happens again?"

If your parent is admitted, our guide to leaving hospital in Ontario under Home First explains the discharge plan, and home care after a hospital stay covers the help families usually arrange for the first weeks home.