WHAT WE OFFER
The Emergency Department (ED) at Peterborough Regional Health Centre (PRHC) provides 24-hour unscheduled emergent, urgent and non-urgent patient care to more than 75,000 adults and children per year. This means one patient arrives at the hospital’s Emergency Department every seven minutes. Our ED is the only emergency care facility located in Peterborough.
Click here to find care alternatives in the community for unattached patients
EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT WAIT TIMES
Check the estimated time most patients will wait to see a doctor in the PRHC Emergency Department today. Please note: Wait times are approximate and can change based on patient needs. Individuals with serious or life-threatening conditions will always be seen first.
Click on the button below to view PRHC’s current wait times:
Streamlined Treatment & Evaluation Pathway (STEP)
STEP is a dedicated care pathway for patients with minor illnesses and injuries. It helps to reduce wait times and improve your care experience by streamlining the process before you arrive.
STEP helps everyone by providing faster care for minor concerns and allowing the ED to focus on higher-acuity patients.
Click on the button below to see if you are eligible for STEP or click here to learn more.
WHO WE ARE
ED staff assess and treat a complete range of patients from the region. We are a designated Trauma Centre. Learn more about the Trauma Program here.
The ED has an interprofessional team consisting of:
We are a formal teaching site so you may see learners as part of your care team.
SEEKING CARE
When patients arrive in the ED, they will be seen by the triage nurse who will assess their condition. Patients will then be asked to register and take a seat in the waiting room. In the ED, the sickest patients are seen first, meaning you may wait longer even if you arrived first.
Neurosurgical, major trauma and burn emergencies are treated in our department. If required, these patients can be transferred through CritiCall by air or land ambulance to regional accepting facilities, predominantly in Toronto or Kingston.
As the District Stroke Centre for this region, PRHC provides emergency stroke care to patients from Peterborough and four surrounding hospitals.
Do You Need a Family Doctor?
If you need a family doctor, you are an “unattached patient” and need to be connected. Here are two options:
Register for Health Care Connect and a nurse will search for a doctor or nurse practitioner who is accepting new patients in your community.
Contact an Ontario physician to ask if they are accepting new patients.
- Use The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario’s Find a Doctor search.
- Choose “Advanced Search” to find a doctor near you (by city/town or postal code).
- Click on “Additional Search Options” to narrow your search (to family doctors and/or language spoken).
- Contact the doctor to check if they are accepting new patients
