ER Compass
live + archived ER waits
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Dartmouth General Hospital

Dartmouth, NS · Hospital website ↗
Open 24/7☎ (902) 465-8300
4h 53m
current emergency wait
Medium confidence, scraped from the hospital's public page, updated 7 min ago
Posted by the hospital · 2026/10/26 12:00:00
vs its typical now
about typical
usually about 4h 59m at this hour
Nova Scotia rank
#10 / 11
among ERs reporting now, shortest first
calmest hour
7am
typically 4h 20m
Long wait posted here right now — a nearby ER may be seen sooner ↓
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Weather now
10°C
Air quality (AQHI)
2

Past ER closures

This emergency department reported no temporary closures in 2023–24.

Nova Scotia publishes no live ER status, so this annual open-data figure is the best signal we have for whether the door will be open. In an emergency, call 911, paramedics know which ERs are open. Nova Scotia open data ↗

When this ER is busiest

Based on our archive, this emergency room is typically busiest around 1am and on Saturdays, and quietest around 7am and on Tuesdays.

4h5h6h7h8h9hcalmest
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Over the last month its posted wait has typically been about 6h 15m, ranging roughly 4h 15m to 8h 53m.

For a non-urgent visit, a calmer hour usually means a shorter wait; in an emergency, go to the nearest ER no matter the time.

Busiest hours, by day
Average emergency wait at Dartmouth General Hospital by day of week and hour of day, in minutes
01234567891011121314151617181920212223
Sun540553495484444359305271276289306281281267293293311300336355397419445499
Mon451493429399352319290256268288299299328312345349354363387415422446471550
Tue506510470411358315248249239254284283285276313326348333351371399445487486
Wed518555468487377318283235248294301292312316345322322330312368412443469487
Thu503520464470394283231229240237261272267297303333301343356396437434472489
Fri530482481479378329273235264284299289299303337370389396423441501509561585
Sat589602542545419363390340284314335341344355393416397388448438507490514551

For a non-urgent visit, a calmer hour usually means a shorter wait; in an emergency, go to the nearest ER no matter the time.

Next 12 hours

The wait is about 4h 53m right now. If this ER follows its usual pattern, expect it to climb toward roughly 8h 27m over the next 12 hours.

A projection from this ER's own history, not a guarantee. Live conditions can change quickly.

How reliable is this number?

Over the last 49.0 h, this ER's posted wait refreshes about every 60 min, has ranged 2h 53m–10h 7m.

Measured from our own archive of what this hospital posted. See how we check accuracy

Getting there

Logistics from OpenStreetMap, to help plan your arrival, not medical guidance. In an emergency, go straight to the nearest entrance and ask staff.

Time to be seen (CIHI)

Officially, 9 in 10 patients here were seen by a physician within ~8h 6m.

For comparison, the wait this ER has posted runs a median of ~6h over the stretch we've tracked it, the typical live estimate, where the CIHI figure above is the long-wait tail (the slowest 1 in 10).

This hospital, 90th-percentile time from triage to first physician assessment. CIHI, fiscal 2024–2025. Source ↗

If you're admitted (CIHI)

If you're admitted to hospital from here, the wait for an inpatient bed can be long: 9 in 10 admitted patients spent under ~75h 48m in the ED.

Most ER visits end in discharge and are far shorter, this is the admitted-patient (boarding) figure. This hospital, 90th-percentile total ED time for admitted patients. CIHI, fiscal 2024–2025. Source ↗

Nearby emergency rooms

Qeii - Halifax Infirmary Site
Halifax · 3 km away
4h 37m
IWK Health Centre
Halifax · 3 km away
—
Cobequid Community Health Centre
Lower Sackville · 16 km away
Closed
Twin Oaks Memorial Hospital
Musquodoboit Harbour · 38 km away
Closed
Hants Community Hospital
Windsor · 58 km away
Closed
Fishermen's Memorial Hospital
Lunenburg · 68 km away
Closed

Frequently asked questions

How long is the ER wait at Dartmouth General Hospital right now?
As of the latest update, about 4h 53m to be seen at Dartmouth General Hospital. The figure refreshes roughly every 10 minutes and is the hospital's own live estimate, not a guarantee: an emergency room always treats the sickest patients first, so your own wait can differ.
What does the wait time actually measure?
Usually the estimated time to be seen by a physician, but Canada has no common definition. Quebec publishes stretcher occupancy, New Brunswick length of stay, and others an estimate of the wait to be seen, so we keep each province in its own units and never blend them into one misleading number.
How accurate are these ER wait times?
They are the live estimates each hospital publishes, refreshed about every 10 minutes; we stamp every reading with the moment the hospital said it was current and flag a feed that goes stale. They are estimates, not guarantees, an emergency room always sees the sickest patients first, so your own wait can differ. We also backtest our forecasts against what hospitals post next; see the accuracy page.
Should I go to the ER, or somewhere else?
For anything life-threatening, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room now, never wait for a shorter posted time. For a non-urgent problem, calling 811 (free 24/7 health advice), a walk-in clinic, or a pharmacist is often faster. When in doubt, get checked.

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