Hamilton screening centres open but before you go, there are steps you must take

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Published March 16, 2020 at 3:20 pm

The City of Hamilton is opening its first two COVID-19 screening centres on Monday (March 16).

The City of Hamilton is opening its first two COVID-19 screening centres on Monday (March 16).

These clinics will be by appointment only and will only see people who have a referral from their doctor or Hamilton Public Health Services.

The clinics are located at:

West End Clinic (690 Main Street West)
Monday to Friday 5-8pm
Saturday and Sunday 9-5pm

East End Clinic (2757 King Street East)
Monday to Friday 4-8pm
Saturday and Sunday 10am-4pm

Primary care (including McMaster Family Health Team, Hamilton Family Health Team, Compass Community Health Centre), Hamilton Health Sciences, St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton, Hamilton Public Health Services and the Ontario Ministry of Health have partnered to open COVID-19 Assessment Centres, a city press release says.

“The opening of these two COVID-19 Assessment Centres will further help to contain the spread of infection in our community, while reducing the pressure on an already over-burdened health care system,” said Hamilton’s Medical Officer of Health Elizabeth Richardson.

Additional COVID-19 Assessment Centres may open later as needed.

These centres will assess patients and test for COVID-19, as appropriate. Patients will also receive direction regarding how to treat their symptoms and next steps in their care.

Individuals should bring their Ontario health card and a list of current medications to the Assessment Centre.

To protect the safety of patients and staff, visitors will not be able to accompany others to the Assessment Centres.

Exceptions will be made for an adult accompanying a child who is a patient, a frail older person, a person with a disability or anyone acting as an interpreter. Patients will be required to wear the provided masks and use hand sanitizer prior to entering the Assessment Centres.

Before going to an Assessment Centre, individuals should take the following steps:

  1. Complete a self-assessment at https://www.ontario.ca/coronavirus to determine if it is necessary to contact Public Health, their doctor or Telehealth Ontario for more guidance.
  2. If the assessment indicates that clinical assessment is necessary, individuals can contact the health care professionals listed below for further guidance: Their family doctor; Hamilton Public Health Services COVID-19 Hotline at (905) 974-9848; Telehealth Ontario at 1 866-797-0000
  3. Individuals will be referred and booked to visit an Assessment Centre by one of the above health care professionals.
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