Cochrane Urgent Care Centre has become the second regional location in the AHS Calgary Zone to offer real-time estimated wait times.

Alberta Health Services officials say it was added to give Albertans another tool to help them decide where to access care for themselves and their families.

The wait times can be found at ahs.ca/waittimes, under the tab for Calgary. They are also available on the Alberta Health Services (AHS) app for iPhone and Android mobile devices.

The posted wait times reflect an estimate of how long it takes from an assessment by a triage nurse in urgent care to being seen by a physician. They do not represent the total time patients may spend at the health centre.

The times are calculated through a software system that uses current data from the facility which compares the number of people in the urgent care centre and how sick they are, with the available resources required to treat those patients.

This calculation does not account for seriously ill patients, who will be seen immediately, and patients with non-urgent concerns, who may wait longer to be seen depending on resources. It is also possible you may wait less time than indicated; however, this depends on several factors, including staffing, arrival of a serious trauma case, or high number of critically ill patients needing care at the same time.

Prior to this announcement, the Airdrie Community Health Centre became the first to offer real-time estimated wait times. More will be added as information and infrastructure become available.

Online estimated emergency department wait times were first posted for hospitals and urgent care centres in the Calgary Zone in 2011, followed by other zones.

Anyone needing emergency care is reminded to call 911, or to go to the nearest emergency department or urgent care centre.

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