You feel terrible, and not sure you have the flu or just a cold. You have been experiencing a sore throat, and are concerned it may be an infection of some sort. You think to yourself maybe you should go see your family doctor, or just go straight to the
emergency room because you now have a spiked fever and a flop sweat. All you know is that you need to see someone to help you get better A.S.A.P.
These are just some of the thoughts that run though our minds when we get too sick to take care of ourselves. We feel we need the aid of a health professional, but what is the best choice? Do we seek out our family doctor we’ve known practically our entire lives? Or do we go to the emergency department and avoid waiting a couple of days or so for an appointment. But consider this;
urgent care centers in the GTA (Greater Toronto Area) are ready to see you at your convenience.
A study on health care in Canada released in 2012 reported the average wait time to see their family physician was about two days for ongoing or routine care, with 45% of Canadians surveyed stating that they wait too long for an appointment, and 32% reported having difficulties getting an appointment. The numbers for a person who is seeking their doctor immediately due to illness is far less appealing with about
one in three Canadians waiting six or more days for an appointment [1] .
Going to your nearest emergency department may seem like the fastest route to see a doctor, but it was reported that wait times in Canadian emergency departments are longer when compared to other countries. A comparison of eleven international countries found that 31% of Canadians wait four hours or more before being treated, 19% higher than the average wait times of those countries documented
[1]. Of course there are other factors that may expedite treatment as dictated by the Canadian Triage and Acuity Scale (CTAS):
| Level I |
Resuscitation |
See patient immediatly |
| Level II |
Emergency |
within 15 minutes |
| Level III |
Urgency |
within 3- minutes |
| Level IV |
Less urgency |
within 1 hour |
| Level V |
Non urgency |
within 2 hours |
Although these recommended times would be most ideal, sadly it is far from what is seen in reality. Check out wait times for Emergency departments in Ontario:
Ontario Wait Times.
It’s not that bad? Consider an Urgent Care Center
Urgent care centers provide medical care much like your emergency department with highly trained physicians, but are primarily used to treat immediate injuries or illness that are non-life threatening. For example if you contract the flu, or sprain your ankle in a sporting accident an urgent care center is the ideal place for you,
no referral or appointment needed, and since they don’t treat severe cases, wait times are relatively shorter compared to the emergency department.
That said it is important to note that routine or long term illness care is not ideally dealt with at these centers. It is best left up to your
primary care provider to monitor long term health complications such as diabetes and high blood pressure. While it may be possible to get a refill prescription of certain medications in dire circumstances, urgent care center physicians tend to turn down some patients because of potential abuse in regards of obtaining narcotic medication for chronic pain.
Non-life threatening illness or injuries include: fever; ear, eye, nose, throat problems; cuts requiring stitches; minor burns; sprains.
Here are some
Urgent Care Centers in the
GTA to help serve you 365 days a year (closing times may vary) :
-
Humber Urgent Care Centre,
2737 Keele St, Unit 103, North York, (647) 748-8011
-
Etobicoke Urgent Care Clinic, 25 Woodbine Downs Blvd #10, Etobicoke, (416) 741-2273
-
Mississauga Urgent Care Clinic, 1500 Dundas Street East (inside Walmart), Mississauga, (905) 212-1433
-
Malton Urgent Care Clinic, 3530 Derry Road East, Unit 110-111, Mississauga, (905) 672-2273
-
Brampton Urgent Care Clinic
51 Mountainash Road, Springdale Square, Unit 8, Brampton, (905) 799-272
When it comes to serve chest pain or a head injury, without question you need to go to your local emergency department right away as they are better equipped to deal with high risk cases. But if you are sure death isn’t at your door and need the aid of a trained professional, an urgent care center worth visiting.
