Visiting hours and policies

Parent/caregiver presence policy and visitor policy:

When parents and caregivers come with their child or youth to CHEO, they arrive not as visitors, but as part of the care team. They are actively working with us as part of their child’s care team, providing vital health information only they would know and giving emotional support in a way only a parent or caregiver can. For this reason, parents/caregivers will never be separated from their child.

Coming to CHEO

To limit the number of people in the building the following rules will apply:

Clinic/Surgical Day Unit appointment

Only ONE parent or caregiver will be allowed to accompany children and youth while at CHEO.

Emergency Department visit

Only ONE parent or caregiver will be allowed to accompany children and youth while at CHEO

Staying at the hospital (admitted to CHEO's inpatient units)

For children and youth admitted to CHEO's inpatient units, they can have two designated parents/caregivers with ONE permitted at the bedside at a time (designated parents/caregivers must be 12 or older).

Overnight, only ONE parent/caregiver is permitted to remain onsite.

Exceptions to these rules

For some patients (e.g. persons with disabilities) coming for an appointment in a clinic or the Surgical Day Unit, a second essential support person may be allowed to help patients and care teams. For patients and parents/caregivers who require additional support, please contact your care team to determine if an exception to ONE parent or caregiver at a time can be granted. For Emergency Department (ED) visits, please discuss your need for an exception on arrival to the ED.

Who can't enter

At this time, visitors are not permitted.

Parents/caregivers who do not pass the entrance screening.

Siblings younger than 12 are not permitted. We appreciate this requires childcare arrangements for younger siblings and we are grateful for your support in doing so.

It is important to us that your child/youth receives the care that they need. If you require an exception to any of our caregiver/visitor policies to ensure that your child/youth can access care, please contact a member of your care team or reach out to CHEO's Patient Experience team (experience@cheo.on.ca or 613-737-7600 ext. 3078).

Where to enter and what to do before you arrive

Where to enter

All children, youth and parents/caregivers must enter through the main entrance for clinic visits, or the Emergency Department in urgent cases. Other entrances are closed.

Screening

To make sure we are always putting safety first and minimizing any chance of transmission of infections during the peak viral season, anyone who comes to CHEO, including parents and caregivers, is screened before entering. Anyone who is sick will not be allowed to enter. Rest assured, if you, as part of the care team, cannot come onsite due to sickness, we will work with you to make sure your child/youth has support.

Make sure to complete our entrance screening before coming to CHEO. For those coming to CHEO for a scheduled appointment please make sure to complete it no more than 48 hours before your scheduled appointment. Additional safety precautions remain in place – including, physical distancing, masking and handwashing, to name a few.

Complete your online screen.

Frequently asked questions for parents/caregivers coming to CHEO

What is the difference between a parent/caregiver and a visitor

Parent/caregiver: Someone who is over 12 years old and helps a child or youth with activities of daily living – e.g. parent, grandparent, older sibling, legal guardian, etc. A parent/caregiver can be designated by a patient. A parent/caregiver is never considered a visitor because they are a vital part of the care team.

Visitor: Someone who is part of a child or youth’s family or support network—e.g. sibling, extended family member, friend, etc.—but not a designated parent/caregiver.

At this time visitors are not permitted. This will help us limit the number of people in the building and ensure the safety of your loved ones. Read the "Entering CHEO" section above to learn more.

Will I be asked to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination?

CHEO asks everyone about their COVID-19 vaccination status as part of our entrance screening, but you do not need to show proof.

I'm a COVID-19 unvaccinated or partially vaccinated parent/caregiver, what can I expect?

For everyone’s safety, we are asking that all parents and caregivers who are able to get vaccinated against COVID-19 do so. Parents/caregivers are asked to be vaccinated to protect those they interact with while at CHEO. Those who are currently unvaccinated or partially vaccinated will still be permitted to come to CHEO, with additional safety measures. As important members of our care team, we will never create a barrier for parents/caregivers to accompany their child to CHEO.

What to expect

Ultimately we want everyone who visits CHEO to be fully vaccinated. For the very few who fall into the category of unvaccinated/partially vaccinated, we ask that you stay out of common spaces such as the cafeteria, coffee shop, or pharmacy — please bring your own snacks and ask your care team how you can get what you need while staying at your child’s bedside.

Will I be required to wear a face mask while at CHEO?

Yes! Masks are given to all parents/caregivers and patients at CHEO. Families are welcome to wear a personal KN95 or other mask when coming to CHEO. We will ask you to put the procedural mask we give you on top as we can't quality check everyone's personal mask.

Please wear your assigned mask when:

a health-care provider comes into your child’s or youth’s room
you go outside of your child’s or youth’s room
physical distancing measures cannot be maintained (including shared rooms)

Masks at CHEO

Thank you

We appreciate your patience and understanding as we continue to update our procedures to keep everyone safe. Please be kind to our entrance screeners, staff and medical staff when you meet them. Safety first is our top priority at CHEO.

Caregiver screening

Everyone is carefully screened when they come to CHEO — this includes all children, youth, caregivers, staff and medical staff. Learn more about what to expect when you come to CHEO.

Fill out the entrance screening questions no sooner than 48 hours before your scheduled appointment. If you develop new symptoms or have new contacts after completing your entrance screen, please resubmit the form.

Complete your online screen

Here are some other things you should be aware of:

Allergy alert!

Some of our children, youth and staff have severe allergies, so please remember:

do not bring nuts, nut products or latex products (like balloons)
avoid using scented products like perfume, cologne, aftershave, body sprays or hair care products
shop wisely at CHEO by checking ingredients and asking questions, as you would elsewhere

Preventing the spread of infection

We want to make sure our children and youth get well quickly. Visitors can help us by:

staying home if you are sick (e.g. you have a fever, cough, runny nose, sore throat, diarrhea, a new rash or are feeling ill)
cleaning your hands often with soap and water or alcohol-based hand gel (e.g. must wash with soap and water if you can see dirt or if there is mucous on your hands)

We have increased safety precautions in place during COVID-19. Visit our COVID-19 page to learn more.

Searching for restricted items

There are times when we need to check patients for things that could cause harm to themselves or others. We do this when we feel a search is needed, to keep everyone at CHEO safe. Restricted items can be any personal belonging that could harm a patient or someone else. Learn more about a restricted items search.

Service and emotional support animals

At CHEO, service animals are allowed and, in some instances, emotional-support animals may be able to accompany people to their appointments. If you are a child, youth, caregiver or visitor and have an emotional-support animal that you would like to accompany you to your appointment, please consult with your clinical team before the appointment to confirm whether accommodations can be made for the support animal to visit.

More information on service animals at CHEO

Service animals are allowed onsite. If it is not visibly apparent that the service animal is required for a disability then you, as the animal’s owner, may be asked to provide documentation from a registered health-care professional indicating that the animal is required in relation to a disability. There are areas of the hospital where the service animals may not be permitted (including but not limited to the following: the Operating Room, PACU, NICU, PICU, X-ray, CT, and food prep areas). If you need to access one of these areas, please speak to your health-care team or Patient Experience prior to your visit to explore alternatives.

More information on emotional support animals at CHEO

Emotional-support animals provide a valuable service, yet they do not qualify as service animals. In some instances your clinical team may be able to accommodate your request to have your emotional-support animal attend your appointment. It is important that you consult your team before your appointment so that you can identify whether your emotional-support animal can accompany you. If approved, please ensure you bring documentation from a registered health-care professional that indicates the need for the support animal.

We want to make each person’s appointment as comfortable as possible and sometimes this prevents support animals from being permitted at CHEO. If your emotional-support Animal is not able to accompany you we will work with you to identify alternative support strategies ahead of your appointment.

Expected service and emotional-support animal behaviour

Any animal onsite must be fully vaccinated, in good health, and must not pose a threat to people or other animals at CHEO. The owner must be fully responsible for the animal at all times. The animal must be kept on a leash or in a cage while onsite.

Raw food diet carries risks

If the animal consumes a raw food diet they are not able to come onsite due to the risk of foodborne infection to the pet and to household members.

CHEO’s Pet Therapy Program

CHEO offers therapy dog interventions for clients and patients across CHEO. Both the dog and the handler are identified by CHEO-issued ID badges. Please do not touch or engage with a therapy dog.

Smoking on our property

Ontario's hospitals are smoke-free zones — including hospital grounds. Provincial Tobacco Control Officers patrol hospital grounds to ensure the province's no-smoking laws are being followed.

Anyone caught smoking on hospital property will be ticketed and could be fined up to $5,000.

To smoke, you must leave hospital property. We also ask that you respect others and don't litter.

Keep in mind:

parking lots are on CHEO property therefore smoking in personal vehicles parked on our lots is also prohibited
using e-cigarettes and vapes are not permitted anywhere on hospital property

If you are ready to quit smoking, the City of Ottawa offers resources to help.