Montreal Children's Hospital

The Montreal Children’s Hospital (MCH) is a pediatric hospital in Montréal, part of the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC). It serves infants, children and adolescents, delivering both highly specialized and more general tertiary-level pediatric care. The hospital also has strong roles in teaching, research, and family-centred care.

Emergency & Inpatient Services

• The Emergency Department is open 24/7 and handles over 75,000 pediatric cases annually, functioning also as a provincial pediatric trauma centre.
• Inpatient services include Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU), and medical inpatient wards covering sub-specialties such as nephrology, endocrinology, gastroenterology, respiratory, immunology etc.

Outpatient, Clinics & Support Services

• There is a referral portal for first-time appointments in many clinics (cardiology, audiology, imaging etc.), which helps simplify the process when patients have referrals.
• Numerous outpatient clinics cover allergy/immunology, adolescent medicine, child protection, complex pain, obesity, craniofacial surgery, rare diseases, etc.
• Support services and “Child Life” programs help families and children with psychosocial, developmental, and emotional needs during hospital stays.

Patient & Family Experience & Tools

• MCH provides resources for families: visitor info, guides on what to expect, access instructions, preparation materials (e.g. for day surgery) and care at home instructions.
• The hospital launched the Opal patient portal app (bilingual) initially in Nephrology department to allow viewing of lab results, appointments, physician notes and related educational content.

Strengths & Challenges

Strengths:

• Very broad pediatric specialty coverage and high level of subspecialty care, particularly in neonatal/premature, cardiac, transplant etc.
• Family-centred tools (referral portal, Opal app, guides) enhance transparency and engagement.
• Strong academic affiliation ensures up-to-date research and training programs.

Challenges:

• Wait time for first appointments can be long depending on speciality and referral load. Referral portal handles first appointments only; follow-ups have different processes.
• Navigation during construction / traffic reorganization at the Glen site may complicate visitor access.
• For families coming from remote or outside the city, travel, parking, or lodging may pose burden.

Practical Information

• Address: 1001 Boulevard Décarie, Montréal, Québec, H4A 3J1. Phone: 514-412-4400.
• Day or ambulatory surgery: many surgical/interventional procedures are done and patient goes home same day; instructions given ahead.
• The hospital uses digital forms, portals for referrals, and offers educational and preparatory material to reduce anxiety and improve outcomes.