Hamilton walk-in urgent care clinic used to support COVID-19 efforts will reopen to general public

Hamilton Health Sciences’ West End Urgent Care Centre (UCC) will reopen on Aug. 3.

The walk-in clinic was closed temporarily in April to support pandemic efforts and was used as a COVID-19 Assessment Centre until July 15.

Staff and physicians at the UCC will provide care for patients between 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., seven days a week. No appointments are required.

“If you’re experiencing an illness or injury that isn’t an emergency, but can’t wait for an appointment with a family doctor, an urgent care centre is a good option for you,” says Dr. Kuldeep Sidhu, Chief of Emergency Medicine at Hamilton Health Sciences (HHS).

Examples of medical issues which require urgent care include:

• Minor cuts or wounds that may require stitches
• Simple broken bones, sprains, strains or deep bruises
• Ear infections
• Fevers, coughs, congestion, and sore throats
• Insect bites, rashes and scrapes

Urgent care centres are staffed by emergency department-trained doctors and nurses and designed to provide patients with faster access to a doctor, rather than waiting in the ER.

It’s expected the UCC will return to pre-pandemic full operating hours (9 a.m. to 9 p.m.) starting on Sept. 7.