AVÐÇÇò

August 26, 2024 — The data collected by AVÐÇÇò’s National Ambulatory Care Reporting System (NACRS) provides valuable insights into emergency department (ED) visits and lengths of stay reported by participating provinces and territories in Canada.

NACRS data shows that from April 2023 to March 2024 (the most recent complete year of data), there were almost 15.5 million unscheduled ED visits reported in Canada — up from 15.1 million in 2022–2023.

Use the data tables to explore the most recent information on ED visits and lengths of stay by participating province and territory.

Key findings

• The number of reported unscheduled ED visits was almost 15.5 million in 2023–2024, up from 15.1 million in 2022–2023.
• Consistent with previous years, patients admitted to hospital in 2023–2024 had longer ED stays than patients who were discharged home following a less urgent ED visit. For those admitted to hospital, 9 out of 10 ED visits were completed within 48.0 hours; for those who were discharged, it was 7.7 hours.
• In 2023–2024, abdominal and pelvic pain, and pain in the throat and chest continued to be the most frequent main problem diagnoses in EDs.
• There were more than 94,600 ED visits reported for patients with a diagnosis of COVID-19. As of August 2024, these ED visits are reported in this NACRS data release. Previously, these results were available in the COVID-19 hospitalization and emergency department statistics web page.