The hospital’s emergency department was closed in 2000 as part of a Ontario-wide hospital streamlining exercise under then-Premier Mike Harris.

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The Royal is bringing back urgent mental health care, 25 years after the hospital’s emergency department was closed as part of a province-wide hospital streamlining exercise. Article content

The plan to resume urgent care at the hospital will fill gaps in mental health and addiction services across the region and take pressure off hospital emergency departments, said President and CEO Cara Vaccarino. It comes at a time when demand for mental health services is unprecedented. Article content Article content

Vaccarino said the move is long overdue and is a first step in transforming The Royal into a “much more responsiv

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