{ "pageHero": { "title": "How the ED works", "subtitle": "Triage, Registration, and Zones." }, "layout": "stacked-cards", "subsections": [ { "id": "patient-journey", "title": "Your Visit, Step by Step", "blocks": [ { "type": "flow-step", "stepNumber": 1, "heading": "Intake", "blocks": [ { "type": "prose", "text": "Check in at the Intake desk at the main Emergency Department entrance. Staff will take your basic details so your name is in the system.\n\n**Children (17 and under):** The Child and Youth Emergency Zone (CYEZ) entrance is open 9:30 am to 10 pm. It is the door just to the right of the main ED entrance - check in at registration there. After 10 pm, use the main ED entrance instead. Children still in CYEZ at closing (11:30 pm) are moved to the Green Zone.", "listStyle": "" } ] }, { "type": "flow-step", "stepNumber": 2, "heading": "Triage", "blocks": [ { "type": "prose", "text": "A nurse will ask you a few questions to figure out how sick you are and how quickly you need to see a doctor. The sickest patients are seen first.\n\nDuring triage, the nurse will:\n\n- Ask about your main concern and symptoms. Focus on what is new today (e.g. \"the pain got worse this morning\")\n- Check your vital signs. That means your temperature, heart rate, blood pressure, and oxygen\n- Ask about your medical history and current medications\n- Assign an urgency level from 1 (most urgent) to 5 (least urgent) - see [urgency levels below](#how-ed-works/urgency-levels)\n\nBloodwork and an electrocardiogram (ECG) may be done here before you are moved to your designated zone.\n\n**Need an interpreter?** Tell any staff member. Free, day or night, in 300+ languages including American Sign Language (ASL).\n\n**Let us know how we can help.** You can share your preferred name, pronouns, or any needs (such as mobility, hearing, or visual support).", "listStyle": "" } ] }, { "type": "flow-step", "stepNumber": 3, "heading": "Registration", "blocks": [ { "type": "prose", "text": "Go to Registration to give your details. This means your name, date of birth, address, and your family doctor's name. Staff put this together with your triage notes to make your chart. Have your health card ready if you have one. You will still be seen without a health card or ID.\n\nIf you have a mobile phone, make sure the number is listed on your file. Staff may need to call you during your visit.", "listStyle": "" } ] }, { "type": "flow-step", "stepNumber": 4, "heading": "Zone Assignment", "blocks": [ { "type": "prose", "text": "After registration, you will be directed to your assigned zone. The ED has about 100 beds spread across 8 zones ([interactive map](#map)).\n\nFind your [zone](#how-ed-works/find-your-zone) below to see what happens next.", "listStyle": "" } ] }, { "type": "flow-step", "stepNumber": 5, "heading": "Care & Waiting", "blocks": [ { "type": "prose", "text": "Your nurse and doctor will assess you, run tests, and treat you in your assigned zone. Waiting between the times the team comes to see you is normal. Behind the scenes, the team is checking results and planning your care.\n\n[Continue to Care & Waiting →](#care)", "listStyle": "" } ] }, { "type": "flow-step", "stepNumber": 6, "heading": "Discharge", "blocks": [ { "type": "prose", "text": "When your check-up is done, your doctor will go over next steps. Most patients go home. Some are admitted to a hospital bed.\n\nYou may get papers to take home. They may list new medicines and any follow-up appointments to book. If anything is unclear, ask before you leave.\n\n[Continue to After Your Visit →](#after)", "listStyle": "" } ] } ] }, { "id": "urgency-levels", "title": "Urgency Levels", "blocks": [ { "type": "urgency-list", "items": [ { "level": 1, "label": "Resuscitation", "description": "e.g., cardiac arrest, major trauma.", "hoursRange": "~10-11 hours" }, { "level": 2, "label": "Emergent", "description": "e.g., chest pain, stroke symptoms.", "hoursRange": "~7-8 hours" }, { "level": 3, "label": "Urgent", "description": "e.g., broken bones, abdominal pain.", "hoursRange": "~5 hours" }, { "level": 4, "label": "Less urgent", "description": "e.g., minor cuts, sprains, earache.", "hoursRange": "~3-3.5 hours" }, { "level": 5, "label": "Non-urgent", "description": "e.g., prescription refills, minor rashes.", "hoursRange": "~3-3.5 hours" } ] }, { "type": "prose", "text": "On average, most patients wait about 2 hours to see a doctor for the first time. Critical patients (Level 1) are seen much sooner.\n\n*These are averages over a whole year of recent data. Your time may be longer or shorter. It depends on how busy the ED is and what tests or consults you need.*", "listStyle": "" } ] }, { "id": "find-your-zone", "title": "Find Your Zone", "blocks": [ { "type": "zone-selector", "intro": "", "zoneFlows": { "red": { "blocks": [ { "type": "prose", "text": "# What happens here:\n\n**Path A - Emergency Medical Services (EMS):** You arrive by ambulance. Paramedics bring you straight to the Red Zone. Staff do triage and register you at your bedside.\n\n**Path B - Traditional:** After Intake and Triage, you are moved to the Red Zone. A nurse will walk you there right away.\n\n1. Nurses assess you. Tests may begin immediately.\n1. A doctor will assess you, order additional tests, and decide on treatment.", "listStyle": "" } ] }, "blue": { "blocks": [ { "type": "prose", "text": "# What happens here:\n\n1. You may be escorted by a nurse or walk on your own to the Blue Zone.\n - You may wait in the main waiting room until a bed in Blue Zone is available. Extra hallway beds may open during busy times.\n1. A nurse will assess you. Some tests may happen before you see a doctor.\n1. A doctor will assess you, order any additional tests, and decide on treatment.", "listStyle": "" } ] }, "pink": { "blocks": [ { "type": "prose", "text": "# What happens here:\n\n1. You may be escorted by a nurse or walk on your own to the Pink Zone.\n - You may wait in the main waiting room until a bed is available. Extra hallway beds may open during busy times.\n1. A nurse will assess you. Some tests may happen before you see a doctor.\n1. A doctor will assess you, order any additional tests, and decide on treatment.", "listStyle": "" } ] }, "green": { "blocks": [ { "type": "prose", "text": "# What happens here:\n\n1. Drop your chart off in the bin beside the waiting room.\n1. Wait in the waiting area until you are called. Extra hallway beds may open during busy times.\n1. A nurse will assess you. Some tests may happen before you see a doctor.\n1. A doctor will assess you, order any additional tests, and decide on treatment.", "listStyle": "" } ] }, "raz": { "blocks": [ { "type": "prose", "text": "# What happens here:\n\n1. Drop your chart off in the bin at the nursing station.\n1. Wait in the Rapid Assessment Zone (RAZ) waiting room until you are called. Staff may send you to the larger seating area in the Mortimer lobby, just outside RAZ, instead. Wait wherever staff tell you and listen for your name.\n1. A nurse will assess you. Some tests may happen before you see a doctor.\n1. A doctor will assess you, order any additional tests, and decide on treatment.\n\nRAZ closes around midnight. If you are still waiting at that time, you will be moved to the Green Zone.", "listStyle": "" } ] }, "yellow": { "blocks": [ { "type": "prose", "text": "# What happens here:\n\n1. Drop off your chart at the RAZ nursing station. When it's your turn, a navigator will move you to the Yellow Zone.\n1. An orthopedic technician performs an initial assessment. An X-ray may be done at this stage.\n1. Wait in the RAZ or Yellow Zone waiting area.\n1. A doctor will assess you and may order additional imaging.\n1. Treatment (e.g. casting, sutures) and discharge.", "listStyle": "" } ] }, "purple": { "blocks": [ { "type": "prose", "text": "# What happens here:\n\n1. You may come here straight from triage. Or you may be moved here from another zone once your medical needs are checked.\n1. Security or Psychiatric Emergency Zone (PEZ) staff walk you to the zone. As a safety step, personal items are checked and only essentials are allowed in. Staff will tell you what to expect.\n1. You will first be seen by an ED physician for medical assessment and tests.\n1. A mental health nurse or psychiatrist will then assess you and plan your care with you. How long you stay and what happens next can vary based on your needs.\n\nFor safety, no visitors are permitted unless approved by staff. Staff are there to help - let them know if you need water, a blanket, or support while you wait.", "listStyle": "" } ] }, "cyez": { "blocks": [ { "type": "prose", "text": "# What happens here:\n\n**Regular hours (9:30 am - 10 pm):** Enter through the CYEZ entrance. CYEZ has its own registration and triage desk, so you are already in the zone. After you register, the triage nurse checks to see how sick each patient is. Based on that check, a patient may be cared for in another zone instead (such as Red or Blue).\n\n1. Wait in the dedicated CYEZ waiting area until you are called.\n1. A nurse will assess the patient. Some tests may happen before seeing a doctor.\n1. A doctor will assess the patient, order any additional tests, and decide on treatment.\n\nA Child Life Specialist can help your child cope with the ED. They explain what will happen in words that make sense, and they get children ready for tests and procedures. They choose the kind of support that suits each child. That may include a distraction tool such as a virtual reality (VR) headset.\n\nCYEZ closes at 11:30 pm; patients still waiting are moved to the Green Zone.\n\n**After hours:** The CYEZ entrance is closed. Enter through the main ED entrance and use the main ED triage and registration desk. The patient is then assigned to a zone.", "listStyle": "" } ] } } } ] } ] }