A: 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!

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