(file photo/CHATNewsToday)

By David Opinko

Health

South Zone emergency rooms have lower wait times, but Medicine Hat Regional Hospital among highest

Jun 4, 2025 | 10:06 AM

While many southern Albertans can likely attest to having waited extensive amounts of time for emergency care, a new report suggests that it could be worse.

The Montreal Economic Institute (MEI) has released a new report on emergency room wait times in 2024/25.

“The data shows that Canadians have been spending more and more time in the emergency room since 2020,” reads the report from the MEI.

Provincially, Albertans have to wait an average of one hour and 30 minutes to get their initial assessment by a physician, and their total length of stay is around three hours and 48 minutes.

In the South Zone, Chinook Regional Hospital in Lethbridge and the Medicine Hat Regional Hospital have slightly longer wait times than the Alberta average, in terms of both initial assessment and length of stay.

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Conversely, patients at the Big Country Hospital in Oyen, Bow Island Health Centre, Crowsnest Pass Health Centre and Fort Macleod Health Centre can be seen by a doctor in as little as half an hour.

However, it should be noted that the facilities in Fort Macleod and Bow Island have been subject to periodic closures over the last several months due to staffing shortages.

The regional breakdown is as follows:

• Big Country Hospital
  • Physician Initial Assessment: 30 minutes
  • Length of Stay: 1 hour 24 minutes
• Bow Island Health Centre
  • Physician Initial Assessment: 30 minutes
  • Length of Stay: 1 hour 42 minutes
• Crowsnest Pass Health Centre
  • Physician Initial Assessment: 30 minutes
  • Length of Stay: 1 hour 30 minutes
• Fort Macleod Health Centre
  • Physician Initial Assessment: 30 minutes
  • Length of Stay: 1 hour 54 minutes
• Bassano Health Centre
  • Physician Initial Assessment: 36 minutes
  • Length of Stay: 1 hour 48 minutes
• Cardston Health Centre
  • Physician Initial Assessment: 36 minutes
  • Length of Stay: 1 hour 48 minutes
• Pincher Creek Health Centre
  • Physician Initial Assessment: 36 minutes
  • Length of Stay: 1 hour 54 minutes
• Raymond Health Centre
  • Physician Initial Assessment: 42 minutes
  • Length of Stay: 2 hours
• Taber Health Centre
  • Physician Initial Assessment: 42 minutes
  • Length of Stay: 1 hour 42 minutes
• Milk River Health Centre
  • Physician Initial Assessment: 48 minutes
  • Length of Stay: 1 hour 48 minutes
• Brooks Health Centre
  • Physician Initial Assessment: 54 minutes
  • Length of Stay: 2 hours 54 minutes
• Medicine Hat Regional Hospital
  • Physician Initial Assessment: 1 hour 48 minutes
  • Length of Stay: 3 hours 54 minutes
• Chinook Regional Hospital
  • Physician Initial Assessment: 1:54 minutes
  • Length of Stay: 4 hours

Edmonton’s Misericordia Community Hospital had the longest wait times in Alberta. There, it takes three hours and 54 minutes to get an initial assessment by a physician, and patients can expect to stay a total of 7 hours and 54 minutes.

The three hospitals with the longest wait times are all in the Edmonton Health Zone.

The full report from the MEI can be found here, while this link goes to a list of all emergency wait times in Alberta.