Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO)

Horrible place. What kind of hospital staffs 1 doctor overnight?? 10-12 hours wait time, nurses telling people your better off to leave and come back tomorrow after you already sat for hours, parents basically camping in hallways with their sick children because there is no space, bathrooms so disgusting that covid would be the last thing you would worry about catching in them… Absolute pathetic disgrace.

The wait time is ridiculous. We have been waiting for 7 hours and we still have not seen a doctor. We left with our baby. This is not acceptable. The System needs to be changed. I don’t understand why doctors get paid so much yet we have so little service in Canada. This should change.

My daughter took her son to Cheo by ambulance on December 18 at 10:30 pm. She was told by parametric he was having a seizure due to high fever. Upon arrival she went In a waiting room holding her son waiting for a room. She didn't get a room until 7 am calling a nurse when she felt her son was getting hotter. Nurse would then give him meds without checking his vials. She waited till change of shifts before a dr finally looked at him, this was around 7:30 am. Dr was concerned with the high fever and then took a covid test which was Negative. He was sent home telling her to give meds every 2 hours. Needless to say she was exhausted and tired. Hospital says only 1 parent per child was aloud. There were alot of couples accompanied the child.

You guys collect donations all the time but can't hire more doctors? It's ridiculous to wait over 10 hours just to get an x-ray of my daughter's nose to make sure it's not broken. Why do you have to get a doctor to approve this. Just get the nurse to do this. This place is getting worse and worse. How do you keep a kid in a place for over 10 hrs. Absolutely unacceptable. We have the worst healthcare system in the world.

CHEO Emergency Department. I decided to leave after waiting for 3 hrs. According to the nurses waiting time is 8 to 10 hrs. I don't know if they are short staff. But the department should do something about their system. On the entrance they will tell parents that only one guardian is allowed to be with the patient due to Covid but unfortunately this is not strictly implemented and that cause the waiting area to be over crowded. The waiting area is so disorganized, people there are like doing camping already because of the long waiting time. I saw multiple family taking multiple seats for them to be comfortable lying down and sleeping there. If this will be the situation everyday in that department I feel bad for the children with mild symptoms that needs medical attention. This is a Childrens hospital and for kids to wait that long is not easy esp.they are unwell. I am fine waiting up to 5 or 6 hrs but for 8 to 10 hrs is too much plus to the factor that they are not strict in the current Covid protocols. I think this is the new Canadian health system because of Covid a lot of factors were affected. The quality patient care is no longer seen.

First, let me say the care at CHEO was very good. My daughter was admitted immediately after she was experiencing an asthma attack. However, to make an already stressful situation more stressful, the billing representative interrupted the doctor's meeting with us to ask billing questions, ignoring the doctor's admonishment to wear a gown around a respiratory patient, and pushed a bunch of paperwork on me, while refusing to take our insurance since they "don't do third party billing." This is the *only hospital* we've visited that has refused to take our insurance information when checking in. After that, I proceeded to follow up with the billing department just a few days after the visit and they stated they had no problem with billing my insurance and would do so directly. Problem solved, or so I thought... This was almost a month ago. Then without informing me, they went ahead and billed me directly despite our agreement, asking if I would bill the insurance instead. So very frustrating.

The staff at CHEO are amazing even through the stressful times of COVID. They are attentive, patient and caring. They take the time to truly understand the problem to provide the appropriate diagnosis and amazing follow up. We are definitely blessed to have such a good hospital in Ottawa.

Amazing vacation spot! Not only was the food phenomenal when I was finally allowed to eat after 1-3 days, most of the nurses, doctors, and surgeons, and other staff are super nice and even saved my life countless times since birth during many of my numerous visits to this wonderful resort. Some items on the menu, such as hot chocolate, are said to have a limit of one per day. I prefer to believe that you can get an infinite amount, but that delivery may take up to 24h between each cup. If you begin your visit through emergency, you may experience extended wait times before you can become a patient, or if it takes too long you may become impatient. That's because it can be very popular. Good news: if you're stuck in the waiting room, it could mean that your life probably might not be on the line, maybe. If you are planning a long stay, there could be toys or entertainment to borrow from the playroom, but I recommend bringing your own books, electronics, or parent to talk with all day long once you begin to feel better. Once they remove your IV, it feels really good to go for a little stroll around the hospital or outside to the little park and feel free again. Moving again after days without being able to eat will likely dig a serious appetite. Did I mention that the food menu is unlimited and that you can basically spend your whole day ordering and eating? Some items take a while to arrive, though, especially when you already had them. This resort offers mandatory wake up calls consisting of the surgery team doing their rounds to check on you. It's very effective when you worry about sleeping through a meeting with several serious professionals in lab coats and the topic is your health and what to do with you. Rather than hearing a beep or platitudes from this wake up call, you might even learn something, for example that your vacation is over and you're going home. Best resort ever, 5 stars! Gabriel, 11, with edits from dad