October 24, 2023
COCHRANE – Real-time estimated wait times for the local urgent care centre are now available online, giving Albertans another tool to help them decide where to access care for themselves and their families.
The wait times can be found at ahs.ca/waittimes, under the tab for Calgary. They are also available on the Alberta Health Services (AHS) app for iPhone and Android mobile devices.
Cochrane’s Community Health Centre is the second regional location in the AHS Calgary Zone to have the estimated wait times available. The estimated wait times for the Airdrie Community Health Centre were added in March. More locations will be added as the information and infrastructure become available.
The posted wait times reflect an estimate of how long it takes from an assessment by a triage nurse in urgent care to being seen by a physician. Wait times do not represent the total time patients may spend at the health centre. The times are calculated through a software system that uses current data from the facility which compares the number of people in the urgent care centre and how sick they are, with the available resources required to treat those patients.
This calculation does not account for seriously ill patients, who will be seen immediately, and patients with non-urgent concerns, who may wait longer to be seen depending on resources. It is also possible you may wait less time than indicated; however, this depends on several factors, including staffing, arrival of a serious trauma case, or high number of critically ill patients needing care at the same time.
Online estimated emergency department wait times were first posted for hospitals and urgent care centres in the Calgary Zone in 2011, followed by AHS sites in Edmonton in 2012, the Red Deer Regional Hospital Centre in 2016, and the Medicine Hat Regional Hospital and Chinook Regional Hospital in Lethbridge in 2017. Regional sites across the Edmonton Zone were added last year, and Grande Prairie Regional Hospital was added in December.
Anyone needing emergency care is reminded to call 911, or to go to the nearest emergency department or urgent care centre.
Alberta Health Services is the provincial health authority responsible for planning and delivering health supports and services for more than four million adults and children living in Alberta. Our mission is to provide a patient-focused, quality health system that is accessible and sustainable for all Albertans. Our current focus is on reducing emergency department wait-times, improving EMS response times, increasing access to surgeries, and improving patient flow.
