Guidance
Urgent care vs emergency department
Urgent care clinics and hospital emergency departments do different jobs. Choosing the right one gets you seen faster and safer.
Quick answer
Urgent care is for non–life-threatening problems that need attention today. Emergency departments (ED) treat life-threatening or complex problems that need imaging, admission, surgery or resuscitation. Urgent care is not a replacement for an ED.
When urgent care is appropriate
- Minor to moderate infections, wounds and injuries
- Dehydration in a stable patient
- Established migraine flares
- UTIs, skin infections, sore throats, ear pain
Go to ED or call 000 for
Emergency warning signs
- Chest pain
- Breathing difficulty
- Uncontrolled bleeding
- Severe burns
- Suspected poisoning
- Sudden weakness or numbness
- Unconsciousness or unresponsiveness
- Seizure
- Ongoing fever in infants
- Sudden severe worst-ever headache
What we don't do
- We are an urgent care clinic, not a hospital emergency department.
- We are not a replacement for hospital care.
- We are not a hospital and are not affiliated with a hospital.