At Ross Memorial Hospital's Emergency Department, we have highly skilled staff and special, state-of-the-art equipment to provide the best possible care for our patients.

On arrival to the Emergency Department, you will be assessed by the triage nurse. Depending on the urgency of your illness or injury, the triage nurse will either place you in a treatment room or in the waiting area. Patients are treated and seen by a doctor in order of need (i.e. seriousness of illness or injury) and not according to the time of arrival. In other words, how soon you are seen by a doctor in Emergency depends on how sick or badly injured you are.

If your wait is longer than expected, we ask you to please understand that we are busy attending to patients who need immediate care. At times, we may have to wait for a special room or equipment to become available before we can attend to your needs.

Please inform the nurse immediately, if you have concerns or your condition changes while you are waiting.

Our doctors and nurses will assess your health care needs and treat you based on the assessment results. This means that you may be required to have additional tests, be seen by a specialist, be admitted to Hospital, or be discharged.

When you are discharged, you will be given important information about your care at home. Be sure you understand it. If you are not sure, ask the doctor and/or nurse to explain it to you again.

Other important information you need to know!

• Turn off all cellular phones while you are in the Hospital as they may interfere with important patient monitoring equipment.
  
• Bring your health card with you for registration.
  
• Bring a list of medications that you take on a regular basis and any other important medical information (i.e. allergies).
  
• In general, only one visitor should accompany each patient in the treatment area due to limited space.
  
• Please choose one family member or friend to phone the Emergency staff when requesting information over the telephone.

Ross Memorial Hospital is committed to excellence in care.

The recently expanded Emergency Department responds to 35,000 to 40,000 visits each year and the number of visits is expected to increase to 50,000 within the next five years. The new department features: 

• 26 treatment and examination rooms.
  
• An improved triage area and two adjacent zones for urgent (critical care) and non-urgent (minor treatment) cases.
  
• Quicker response time and more effective use of medical resources.
  
• A two-lane ambulance garage with a covered entrance for ambulances and private vehicles.  

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