ER Compass
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McMaster Children's Hospital (Hamilton)

Children's ER
Hamilton, ON · Hamilton Health Sciences - Mcmaster · Hospital website ↗
Open 24/7☎ (905) 521-2100
4h 57m
current emergency wait
High confidence, official hospital feed, updated 15 min ago
Posted by the hospital · 2026-10-26T08:00:16.113
vs its typical now
+3h 3m
usually about 1h 54m at this hour
Ontario rank
#42 / 53
among ERs reporting now, shortest first
calmest hour
2pm
typically 58 min
Busier than usual for this time of day (~96th percentile of this ER's own posted-wait history at this hour, based on 290 past readings)
Long wait posted here right now — a nearby ER may be seen sooner ↓
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Weather now
10°C
Air quality (AQHI)
3

When this ER is busiest

Based on our archive, this emergency room is typically busiest around 6am and on Tuesdays, and quietest around 2pm and on Mondays.

1h2hcalmest
12a6a12p6p11p

Over the last month its posted wait has typically been about 1h 51m, ranging roughly 56 min to 3h 27m.

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 McMaster Children's Hospital (Hamilton) by day of week and hour of day, in minutes
01234567891011121314151617181920212223
Sun939810310813614213813813612410292857671728188979699959190
Mon8788889112913113012711485685959586169798599102108111112114
Tue11812212814018919720220419316011687725855576268768184838890
Wed971001071151361401471491491259377615454586773818685889297
Thu10010411111814014013813211786695653546168798797106110112115120
Fri12712712913715916116015914912910067575048576576828991939496
Sat971001021131361471481491351189372605553576367768181858988

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 57m right now. If this ER follows its usual pattern, expect it to ease toward roughly 2h 29m 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 15 min, has ranged 55 min–5h 2m.

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)

Across Ontario, 9 in 10 patients were seen by a physician within ~4h 30m.

For comparison, the wait this ER has posted runs a median of ~1h 49m 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).

Province-wide, no hospital-level figure is published for this site. CIHI, fiscal 2024–2025. Source ↗

If you're admitted (CIHI)

Across Ontario, 9 in 10 admitted patients spent under ~44h 24m in the ED waiting for an inpatient bed.

Most ER visits end in discharge and are far shorter, this is the admitted-patient (boarding) figure. Province-wide, no hospital-level figure for this site. CIHI, fiscal 2024–2025. Source ↗

Typical in Ontario (CIHI)

half of discharged ED visits finish within ~2.3–3.7 h; 9 in 10 within ~8.3 h.

Province-wide total time in the ED (arrival to leaving), Apr–Sep 2025, a ballpark where there's no live wait, not this hospital's posted number.

Nearby emergency rooms

Hamilton General Hospital
Hamilton · 1 km away
3h 6m
St. Joseph's Hospital (Charlton, Hamilton)
Hamilton · 2 km away
1h 55m
Juravinski Hospital
Hamilton · 3 km away
2h 1m
Joseph Brant Memorial Hospital
Burlington · 9 km away
—
Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospital
Oakville · 23 km away
2 min
West Lincoln Memorial Hospital
Grimsby · 27 km away
2h 50m

Frequently asked questions

How long is the ER wait at McMaster Children's Hospital (Hamilton) right now?
As of the latest update, about 4h 57m to be seen at McMaster Children's Hospital (Hamilton). 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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