Emergency Departments

We provide 24/7 Emergency Departments at both the Huntsville District Memorial Hospital Site and the South Muskoka Memorial Hospital Site.  A team of providers including doctors, nurses and nurse practitioners aim to provide the best possible emergency care.  Excellent staff and up-to-date equipment ensure patients receive quality care including triage, resuscitation, trauma, surgical and medical care.  Patients who are critically ill or need specialized services may be transferred to another hospital once they are stable.

If you use our emergency services, you will be assessed by a triage nurse when you arrive.  Everyone is triaged, even those who arrive by ambulance.  Our goal is to minimize wait times, but the most severe and urgent cases must be seen first.  Please be patient if you are waiting to be seen.  Let the nurse know if there is any change in your condition.

Arrival to Emergency

Please bring the following with you:

• Valid Ontario Health Card or insurance documentation
• Current home address and contact information for your next of kin
• WSIB (Workplace Safety and Insurance Board) claim number, Social Insurance Number and accident date and details if your visit is related to a workplace injury or illness
• All medications (packaged in a zip-lock plastic bag) or a current list of your medications, with doses and times taken
• If possible, have a family member or next of kin with you for support at your visit
• Parents: When bringing your child to Emergency Department, if possible, please bring enough snacks, drinks, bottles, diapers, your child's favourite toy, and activities for your child as they may be with us for some time depending on their condition and course of treatment

When accompanying an elderly patient/or meeting them at MAHC, please ensure you bring warm clothes, coat and shoes, as often times patients arrive by ambulance and don't have the necessities to go home after discharge.

Special Precautions When Visiting the Emergency Department

Help us to stop spread infection by:

• Advising the triage nurse if you have diarrhea
• Wearing a mask if you have any symptoms of infection, such as a cough 
• Using hand sanitizer as you enter or leave the hospital, and after you use the washrooms

If You Are Accompanying a Patient to the Emergency Department

Please note that only one visitor per patient is permitted in the Emergency Department.  All cell phones must be turned off.  Visitors may be asked to wait in the waiting area while you are being examined, or receiving care.  Anyone 16 years of age and older is triaged independently in confidence.  Family will be consulted once the triage process is completed if there are additional concerns.  These precautions help us to give you the best possible care.

Wait Times

We know wait times can be long in the Emergency Department.  Things that might affect wait times are:

• Very sick patients get priority
• Volume of patients
• Availability of specialists or diagnostic tests (e.g., X-ray, CT)
• Staffing and bed availability

You can help pass the time by bringing a book, device, or other hobby.

The provincial government developed Ontario's Wait Time Strategy to create a system of accountability through transparent reporting of wait time information. Wait time statistics - and more specifically time spent in Emergency Departments information - for Muskoka Algonquin Healthcare or any other hospital organization is available on the Health Quality Ontario website.