Osler temporarily closing Urgent Care Centre to help increase focus on high risk, vulnerable patients in the community during COVID-19

Lower volumes presenting opportunity to re-assign highly-skilled staff to other areas of the hospital

William Osler Health System (Osler) is temporarily closing its Urgent Care Centre (UCC) at Peel Memorial Centre for Integrated Health and Wellness so the hospital can help better focus on high-risk, vulnerable patients in the community during COVID-19.

“With an extremely low number of patients visiting the UCC in recent weeks, we saw this as a priority opportunity to reassign our highly-skilled doctors and nurses to other areas of the hospital where they are most needed at this time – like our emergency departments and critical care areas,” said Dr. Naveed Mohammad, President and CEO, William Osler Health System. “Patients who require urgent care services can be seen in Osler’s Emergency Departments at Brampton Civic Hospital and Etobicoke General Hospital, which are also seeing lower-than-normal volumes during the COVID-19 pandemic.”

The temporary closure will take effect on Friday, April 24 at the UCC’s closing time (9:00 p.m.). Osler’s COVID-19 Assessment Centre at Peel Memorial remains open, as does some of its specialized outpatient clinics, like dialysis.

Osler continues to monitor demand for its emergency services and any surge in inpatient and emergency department patient volumes at Brampton Civic and Etobicoke General would trigger a re-opening of the UCC.

“This pandemic has challenged us in ways none of us could ever have imagined,” said Dr. Mohammad. “At Osler, we must do our part to ensure the community continues to have access to safe, high-priority services – while also ensuring we have the capacity to care for patients experiencing complications from COVID-19. As health providers working diligently to keep this community safe and healthy, we appreciate all of the efforts helping to minimize the spread of the virus, as well as the outpouring of support we continue to receive.”

For more information and to learn more about Osler’s COVID-19 response, please visit the dedication COVID-19 section of our website.