Edmonton ER wait times now posted online

Alberta Health Services is now posting estimated wait times for Edmonton emergency departmentson its website.

The hospitalson the site include theRoyal Alexandra, University of Alberta, Misericordia, Stollery Children's, Grey Nuns, Sturgeon, Leduc, Westview and the North East Community Health Centre.

Wait times for Fort Saskatchewan will be added once the hospital gets the necessary software.

The information can also be accessed through an iPhone and Android mobile app.

Carol Manson McLeod, executive director of the Emergency Program, says officials hope the information will spread the load among the various hospital emergency departments.

"We call it load-levelling because you will see on the wait times that some departments are five hours where other departments are maybe two hours or an hour," she said.

Wait times are an estimate for seriously but not severely ill patients.

Health officials say people with chest pain orother life-threatening conditionsshouldgo to the closest emergency department where they'll seen right away.

AHS has posted wait times for emergency rooms in Calgary since last July.