The Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario is asking parents to help reduce wait times by thinking twice before bringing children to the emergency room.

The number of emergency room visits is up about 20% with almost half of those visits deemed by doctors non-emergency cases.

“We know how hard it is for parents to decide what to do when their child is ill,” says Dr. Gina Neto, the Chief of Emergency Medicine at CHEO.

“For most minor complaints, parents should first turn to their primary doctor’s office or a walk-in clinic, so that Emergency doctors can focus on the children and youth who have more urgent problems and need our specialized care.”

To prevent the spread of infection, CHEO says only two caregivers should accomodate an ill or injured child. In addition, siblings should be left at home.

Conditions that can be managed at home or at a doctor's office:

  • Fever in healthy and vaccinated children who are generally well and playful when the fever is brought down with ibuprofen or acetaminophen.
  • Breathing problems due to nasal congestion and cough, common cold symptoms, or mild asthma symptoms that respond to puffers.
  • Vomiting or diarrhea that occurs less than 3-4 times per day, or ongoing diarrhea after stomach flu, which can last up to two weeks.