Why ask on social media about emergency department wait times when you can get it from the source?
That’s the situation now with the Chatham-Kent Health Alliance (CKHA). The local hospital organization has launched an online emergency department wait time clock available on CKHA’s website.
The wait time clock is designed to provide estimated emergency department wait times for patients seeking care at both the Chatham and Wallaceburg sites.
The initiative is hoped to give patients and families a better expectation of current wait conditions before and during their visits, hospital officials said in a media release.
CKHA joins several other Ontario hospitals in adopting digital wait time reporting to enhance the patient experience.
“Empowering our community with clear, accessible information is key to building trust,” said Natalie Clark, chief nursing executive for CKHA, in a media release. “Launching this tool reflects our ongoing commitment to transparency and helping patients and families feel better informed when seeking emergency care. We also want to remind our community that patients are triaged based on the need to see the sickest patients first, so in an emergency, you should always ensure that you call 9-1-1 or proceed to the nearest emergency department right away, regardless of overall estimated wait times.”
The wait time system operates by grabbing real-time data from the hospital’s internal system. The numbers reflect a calculated estimate based on the current volume and acuity of patients in the department.
To ensure accuracy while protecting system performance, the report updates every 30 to 60 minutes.
Hospital officials remind the community that the displays serve as a general guide rather than an exact, guaranteed measurement.
