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.

Who is a parent/caregiver or visitor?

Parent/caregiver: Someone who is over 14 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.

Designated visitor: a visitor, 12 or older, that a patient has specifically identified as one of their four allowed visitors. 

CHEO is safe

CHEO remains a safe place for you to come with your child/youth. To make sure we are always putting safety first and minimizing any chance of transmission of infections during the COVID-19 pandemic, anyone who comes to CHEO, including parents, caregivers and visitors, is screened before entering and will not be allowed to enter if they are sick. 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 each day before coming to CHEO. Additional safety precautions remain in place – including, physical distancing, masking, and handwashing, to name a few.

All CHEO entrance screens now include a question about vaccination status. For everyone’s safety, we are asking that all parents, caregivers and visitors who are able to get vaccinated do so.

For visitors: as of September 22, we require that all visitors to CHEO be fully vaccinated.

For parents/caregivers: 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. 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 if you are an unvaccinated or partially vaccinated parent/caregiver?

Ultimately we want everyone who visits CHEO to be fully vaccinated. For the very few who fall into the category of unvaccinated/partially vaccinated, here’s what you can expect:

• Additional screening questions as part of our entrance screen – please plan to arrive early as you will need to answer a few more questions.
• You will be escorted to your child/youth’s bedside.
• You will not be allowed in 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.

Entering CHEO

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.

Who can enter

To limit the number of people in the building the following rules apply: Coming for a clinic/Surgical Day Unit appointment, or an Emergency Department visit Only ONE parent or caregiver will be allowed to accompany children and youth while at CHEO 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. Staying at the hospital TWO designated parents/caregivers and FOUR designated visitors are permitted (designated visitors must be 12 or older). Overnight, only one parent/caregiver is permitted to remain onsite.  During the day, only two parents/caregivers or visitors are permitted on site at the same time.  For example, one parent/caregiver and one visitor can accompany a child during the morning and another parent/caregiver and visitor can accompany the child later in the day. As a reminder, only one caregiver can remain with the child overnight.

Who can't enter

Any visitor who is unvaccinated or partially vaccinated as of September 22, 2021 (unless they have been granted an exception for compassionate reasons by the care team). Parents/caregivers or visitors 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.

Thank you

COVID-19 has created many new rules and safety procedures we all need to follow. We appreciate your patience and understanding as we continue to update our procedures in line with direction from Public Health Ontario. Please be kind to our entrance screeners, staff and medical staff when you meet them. Safety first is our top priority at CHEO.