What is the after hours clinic?

Patients enrolled with Dr. Sidhu can seek care Monday-Friday between the hours of 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM by one of the 17 Physicians in Dr. Sidhu’s group. This excellent service allows patients a scheduled appointment without having to wait hours in a walk in clinic.

Where else can we seek care?

When the office is closed, patients enrolled with Dr. Sidhu may call the Telephone Health Advisory Service, Monday to Friday from 5:00 PM to 9:00 AM, 24 hours a day on weekends and holidays.

Urgent Care at the Douglas Memorial Hospital (Ft. Erie), Port Colborne Hospital or the ER Dept at GNGH, St. Catharines, Douglas Memorial or Port Colborne Hospitals.

Why should we avoid walk-in clinics?

Seeking care at a walk in clinic reduces the quality of care since they do not send records/bloodwork/diagnostics to Dr. Sidhu after your visit. Use of walk-in clinics means that the Ministry of Health is being billed twice for your care; that translates into fewer resources for everyone.  Furthermore, Dr. Sidhu is penalized by OHIP and is required to repay the cost of your visit.

I do not have a Family Doctor. How do I register with
Dr. Sidhu?

Patients who do not currently have a Family Doctor please call 905-357-1661 or come into the office to register with Dr. Sidhu.

What if I cannot make it to my scheduled appointment?

In order to be respectful of the medical needs of the community, please be courteous and call our office promptly if you are unable to attend an appointment. Dr. Sidhu requires at least 24 hours’ notice, so that your appointment time can be reallocated to someone else. Keep in mind that our receptionists will begin taking calls at 9:00a.m., and we will be closed between 12:00-1:00 p.m. for lunch.

“No Show” Policy

A “no show” is someone who misses an appointment without cancelling it within a full working day (24 hours) in advance or who fails to present at the time of a scheduled appointment. Both of these will be recorded in the patients’ chart as a “no show”. The second time, a letter alerting them to the fact that they have failed to show up for an appointment and did not cancel the appointment will be sent out; outlining clearly our “no show” policy. After the second time, patients will be charged $30 for a regular missed appointment. For a longer missed appointment ie: Annual Physical, Driver’s Medical, Travel Health or Procedures, the patient will be charged $50.

Uninsured Services

Ontario’s Health Insurance Plan (OHIP) pays for most medical services, but many administrative services and some medical procedures are deemed by OHIP to be not medically necessary and are therefore uninsured. It is Niagara Region Medical’s policy that these services are billable directly to the patient and payment is due on receipt of the service. For a list of uninsured services please the link below.

Uninsured and Third Party Services List

What is the scent free clinic policy?

Niagara Region Medical is a scent free clinic. Please bare this in mind as many of our patients and staff have allergies and asthma. Even the slightest odour can trigger an attack.