Emergency & Observation Unit

If you know it's an emergency or an extremely urgent medical problem, don't hesitate - call an ambulance (911 or your local emergency number)!

It’s not always easy to know if a medical problem needs emergency care. In some situations, emergency medical treatment is a must.
Other conditions are best dealt with by your family doctor or at a local health clinic.

How do you decide?
Understanding how an Emergency Room works may help you decide if you need to go there. When you arrive, a nurse will speak with you and decide the urgency and level of care you need:

1. Emergency
Heart attack, major trauma, severe head injury, amputation, severe difficulty breathing (due to an allergic reaction or other cause), anytime a patient is unconscious, severe bleeding

2. Urgent
Head injury but still awake, deep cut, foreign body in the eyes or ears, high fever in an infant or toddler, chest pain (not related to a known heart problem), signs of serious infection

3. Less Urgent
Possible fracture/sprain, back pain, skin/wound infection, headaches (migraines)

4. Not Urgent
Colds, minor cuts, bites, sore throat, sinus problems.

If you think it’s an emergency or urgent, don’t hesitate!

How long will I wait?
Patients are seen by a doctor in order of need, not time of arrival. On your arrival you will be assessed by a Registered Nurse to determine how urgently you need to be seen by the physician. They may offer you other alternatives of where you can get care. Arriving by ambulance does not always mean you will be seen sooner than other patients.

How long you wait will depend on:

How urgently you need care
How urgently others in the Emergency Room need care
How busy the ER is when you arrive

Are there other choices?
Contact Health Links-Info Santé for answers to questions about common health concerns. This telephone health information service is staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week by knowledgeable, experienced nurses and is free of charge everywhere in Manitoba.

Call 788-8200 (in Winnipeg) or 1-888-315-9257 toll-free.

What else can I do?

Ask about your family doctor’s regular office hours and after-hours availability. Your doctor knows your family history best. Many provide 24-hour response to their patients.
Ensure you and your family have enough prescribed medication over holidays and weekends.
If you have a chronic illness, keep your regularly scheduled appointments with your doctor.
Be sure you understand your doctor’s advice and ask what changes in your condition would require medical attention.

If you’re not sure, call Health Links-Info Santé and ask a registered nurse. Call toll-free 1-888-315-9257