Your doctor's office isn't your only health-care option. With a valid health card, you can seek help from a number of different health-care facilities across Canada.
Toll-free hotlines
Not sure where – or even if – you should seek immediate treatment? Most provinces have a 24-hour number you can call to ask a registered nurse any non-urgent health questions. They offer advice and can direct you to the appropriate help, including the location of the nearest emergency department, urgent care clinic, after-hours or walk-in clinic. Several of these hotlines have corresponding websites with symptom sorters, information on common health problems and alerts, and general health tips.
Newfoundland and Labrador: Newfoundland and Labrador HealthLine, 888-709-2929, yourhealthline.ca
Nova Scotia: Nova Scotia HealthLink, 811, nshealthlink811.ca
New Brunswick: New Brunswick Tele-Care, 800-244-8353 Quebec: Info-Santé, 811
Ontario: Telehealth Ontario, 866-797-0000, health.gov.on.ca/en/public/programs/telehealth
Manitoba: Manitoba Health Links, 888-315-9257
Saskatchewan: HealthLine, 877-800-0002, health.gov.sk.ca/healthline-online
Alberta: HEALTHLink Alberta, 866-408-5465, healthlinkalberta.ca
British Columbia: HealthLinkBC, 811, healthlinkbc.ca
Yukon: Yukon HealthLine, 811
Emergency departments
Visit the emergency room of your nearest hospital if you experience any of the following symptoms.
• Discomfort or tightness in the chest
• Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath
• Abdominal pain
• Prolonged and persistent headache
• Any injury that may require stitches or involve a broken bone
What to bring: Health card, hospital card (if you've visited the same hospital in the past), additional insurance information and a list of allergies and current medications.
Note: Arriving by ambulance does not automatically mean you'll be seen sooner than other patients.
Page 1 of 2 – Learn more about urgent care clinics, after-hours clinics and calling 911 on page 2.
