Emergency care

• Health Card (OHIP Card)
• Photo ID that includes your current address
• Your current cell phone number, if you have one
• List of your allergies and any medications that you are on
• Next of kin (if possible, have a family member or next of kin with you at your visit for support) 
• Due to COVID delays in medication delivery, we recommend all patients bring their medications to hospital.
• Consider bringing a charger for your cell phone, filled water bottle, and a sweater.

If you are in labour, please go directly to our Labour & Delivery unit on M5 (M-wing, 5th floor). More detailed information is available here.

Ontario Health811 is a free, secure and confidential service you can call or access online 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to get health advice from a registered nurse or find health services or information.

Phone: 811
TTY: 1-866- 797-0007
Learn more on the Health811 website

Threatening, abusive and/or violent behaviour are not tolerated in the Emergency Department.

Patients and visitors who are considered to pose a safety risk to our staff, physicians, volunteers or other patients, will be removed from the hospital. We are here to help you.

We pledge to treat you with dignity and respect, and expect the same treatment in return.

Download the full PDF »

We understand how stressful it can be to feel uninformed and disconnected from your loved one when they are in the ED. We want to keep loved ones up to date; we also have to prioritize direct care for patients. Here are some suggestions for how to stay involved in the care of someone while they are in the ED:

1. Come with them to the ED. Our full visitor policy is here, but most patients are permitted one visitor at a time. This is the best way to stay connected every step of the way.
2. The patient can request to keep someone on speaker phone when the doctor is assessing them. This is the next best option if you cannot be physically present in the ED. This request must come from the patient if they are capable of their own decision making.
3. Call the hospital for an update. If you have tried calling the patient directly and were not able to reach them, you can call the Emergency Department at 416-480-6100 ext. 64207 and we will do our best to have someone from the care team respond. If you are unable to speak with someone, you can call our Patient Experience Ambassador team at 416-480-6100 ext. 61846. They are available 7 days a week during business hours to take a message and ask someone from the medical team to call you back, if the patient provides consent.

Important things to keep in mind:

• Please designate ONE person to be updated. It is not possible for the care team to update multiple different people.
• The care team will not provide family updates for patients who are capable of their own medical decision making, except by request from the patient. This is due to privacy regulations protecting a patient’s personal health information.
• If the patient would like someone updated, please ensure the patient has the correct phone number available.

Our Emergency Department team is open to everyone, and anyone who walks through our doors is welcome to have an assessment by our emergency department team. The medical team will determine if you are having an emergency condition that requires admission to hospital or if you will be discharged home. If you are discharged home, the medical team will determine if your condition requires follow up with your family physician or with a specialist at Sunnybrook. Please note, each specialist group at Sunnybrook has specific referral criteria, and one of these criteria is 'catchment' (i.e. if your home address is near Sunnybrook). Most Sunnybrook clinics do not accept referrals for patients who live outside of our catchment area. In that case, you may be asked to follow up with a family physician or walk in clinic closer to your home, to arrange for a referral within your area. Additionally, many clinics do not accept emergency department referrals for patients who are already followed by the same type of specialist, but are seeking a second opinion. In that case, you will be asked to go back to your family physician or specialist, and ask them to send a referral to Sunnybrook for another opinion. Please note the Emergency Department team does not determine the referral criteria for each clinic.

Sometimes your condition may require additional care and you will be admitted. This means you will resume your care on one of our specialized patient care units.

Once the decision has been made, your health care team will talk to you about where in the hospital you will go and what to expect.

Sometimes there may be a very long wait for a bed to become available. In that case your care will continue in the Emergency Department until your bed is ready. Depending on why you need to stay and which team will take care of you in the hospital, they will come to meet you while you are still in the Emergency Department and start taking care of you at that time.

Remember there is always a health care team responsible for your care. If you are ever unsure who that is, just ask.

Please note – The only determinant of bed availability is if another patient is discharged. Our teams work hard to ensure patients are able to move into the bed they need as soon as possible. Often we have more patients than beds, so we need to wait until there is a safe discharge, before we can move patients from the Emergency Department.

Learn more about what to expect when staying at the hospital » 

Sunnybrook is not responsible for patient and visitor belongings. Please do not bring valuables (this includes, but is not limited to, cash, jewelry, keys and watches) into the hospital.

We understand that an emergency department visit is not planned. Be sure to give your valuables to a friend or family member for safekeeping. Should you decide to keep any of your valuables, please know this is at your own risk. Valuables can also be given to our Security Department but are limited to the capacity of what can fit into a 8x11” sealed envelope. If you are being admitted to the hospital, inform your care team of the items that you have on you and ensure they are labeled with your name.

At Sunnybrook, patients are able to retrieve any of their health record by visiting our Health Records and Patient Registration Office at E123 (E wing, first floor, room 23). This office is open during regular business hours, and they can be reached by phone at 416-480-4433.

» Learn more about accessing your health records 

If you would like to review imaging or tests from your emergency department visit online, please sign up for MyChart.

If you are discharged home, make sure you understand your discharge instructions. This may include:

• Any follow-up appointments you may have: you may need to see your family doctor or a specialist at Sunnybrook or in the community
• Your prescriptions for medications and where you can get them filled: either your local pharmacy, or Sunnybrook’s – M1-101 – during regular business hours
• When you get home:
  • What you can eat or drink
  • What activities you are able to do

Please be sure to ask questions if you have any.

» View emergency department discharge instructions (videos included)