InfoPEI

Emergency Department vs. After Hours Clinic

The Queen Elizabeth Hospital has provided the following guidelines for determining whether one should go to the Emergency Room or to seek out an After Hours Clinic if one is not feeling well:

What's an emergency?

Is your problem minor?
In most cases, your family doctor is the most appropriate person to see if you are not feeling well. After-hours service for medical problems that cannot wait until the next day, but are not life threatening, are provided by after-hours clinics. Use the after hour clinics for non-urgent care if your doctor is on holidays, or if you do not have a family doctor.

Is your problem serious?
Go to the nearest Emergency Department when:

You have discomfort or tightness in the chest
You have more than usual shortness of breath
You have abdominal pain
You have prolonged and persistent headache
You have an injury that may require stitches or may involve a broken bone
Your child has prolonged diarrhea or vomiting
A baby under six months has a fever of 38EC or 100.4E F, or higher
You are experiencing a major crisis and as a result, feel helpless, hopeless and have nowhere to turn

If you are not certain --

GO TO THE EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT