I was listening with interest to the "town hall" m...

I was listening with interest to the "town hall" meeting via telephone last night. A few comments were made about the emergency department but answers were traditional and did not address the concerns expressed which are also my concerns. To say that real emergencies will be attended to as a priority is a given. The issue of long wait times for non-emergent patients was ignored and we were reminded that we should seek help at walk-in clinics, urgent care or better still see our family doctor. I am an 80 year old widow living alone in the community. When I have a concern about a possible heart ailment or an attack of intense vertigo at night I can only call an ambulance. I have made two visits to the ER this year and waited in excess of five hours to see a physician. In one case after 8 hours of vertigo, my family physician INSTRUCTED me to go to ER. In the other I experienced a prolonged AFib attack. On both occasions I was intensely uncomfortable and was treated with disregard. Why couldn't an urgent care section be part of the ER? Why do you want to make it a satellite facility? For those of us who are not considered emergent, it would be much appreciated if, after triage, we were streamlined into an area where we could be attended to in a timely manner and have the hospital services available.
I recently attended my family physician regarding an episode I had experienced at home. I was told I should have gone directly to Emergency. Really, what should I do?

As a medical professional I worked at Trillium when it was South Peel Hospital and later Mississauga Hospital. I gave birth to both of my children there. I donate. I have seen the changes that have occurred in the last 50 years.

You are never going to stop sick people, feeling worried, from coming to Emergency. While working on community resources to keep us all healthy and educated and while setting up 24 hour medical/urgent care clinics, please don't make us feel we are living in a third world country.