River
Valley Health residents requiring emergency medical care are served by ambulance
services and hospital-based emergency departments located throughout the region.
Approximately 160,000 patients are registered in emergency departments
throughout the region annually.
Emergency Triage: The length of your wait in the
region's emergency departments will depend on the seriousness of your symptoms.
A triage nurse will examine you and classify your
symptoms. This is based on the Canadian Triage and Acuity Scale, a system used
to sort and prioritize patients. The scale has five levels - resuscitation,
emergent, urgent, less-urgent, and non-urgent.
Not sure if you need emergency services?
In emergency situations, go to the nearest Emergency Department. If you
have questions about
your health, you can call
TeleCare at 1-800-TeleCare (1-800-244-8353). This provincial telehealth
service provides access to professional advice from registered nurses by
telephone.
Emergency Department Hours: Dr. Everett Chalmers
Regional Hospital, Hotel-Dieu of St. Joseph, Upper River Valley Hospital and
Tobique Valley Hospital provide 24-hour, seven day per week emergency service.
Oromocto Public Hospital provides services from 8 am to 10 pm daily.
Emergency Department at the Regional Hospital: The
emergency department at the Dr. Everett Chalmers Regional Hospital is the
regional referral centre for specialist and trauma care. Specialist services are
available on call 24 hours per day and include internal medicine, pediatrics,
general surgery, obstetrics and gynecology, vascular surgery, orthopedic
surgery, ophthalmology, ENT (ear, nose, throat), neurology, urology, and
psychiatry. A group of female family practitioners provides on-call coverage for
sexual assault examinations. For those patients requiring specialized
neurosurgery, interventional cardiology, and cardiac surgery services, referrals
are made to specialists in other centres.
Emergency Department Alternatives: Fredericton-area
residents can make use of several alternatives to the emergency department.
Family practitioners operate three After Hours Clinics (Regent Street, Brookside
Mall, New Maryland) evenings, weekends, and holidays.
The Community Mental Health Centre is open for walk-in
clients Monday to Friday. After hours, the phone line is answered by a support
worker who can make a referral to an on-call mental health professional
(453-2132).
For more information, please contact
Marianne.Carr@rvh.nb.ca
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