DEFINITION OF HOSPITAL

According to WHO, “Hospital is an integral part of social medical

organisation, the functions of which is to provide complete health care for
the population both, curative and preventive and who reach out to the
family and its home environment. The hospital is also a centre for training
of health workers and for bio-social research.”

Another definition was given by WHO in 1963 by the expert committee

stating that : “Hospital is a residential establishment which provides short
term and long term medical care consisting of observational, diagnostic,
therapeutic and rehabilitative services for persons suffering or suspected to
be suffering from a disease or injury and for parturient. It may or may not
also provide services for in patient or an outpatient basis.”
 CASUALTY

 This department, also known as the accident and emergency

department deals with patients who have been brought in by
an ambulance in an emergency situation. Sometimes patients
find their own way to this department to in case they have had
an accident or seek immediate treatment.

 This department works 24/7 and is equipped to deal with all

sorts of emergencies. The patients are assessed according to the
degree of injury or emergency and then provided immediate
treatment before being sent to a specialised department for
further treatment.

 The Platt Report in 1962 gave birth to the official title of

“Accident and Emergency Service”. This report stated the
provisions that are to be followed for the smooth functioning of
this department.
 ANEASTHETICS

 Doctors in this department administer anaesthesia for

patients for various procedures and surgeries. They
provide the following services:
 Acute pain services post surgery

 Chronic pain services for patients suffering from bone

related illnesses like arthritis

 Critical care services for those suffering from trauma

 Obstetrics anaesthesia and analgesia like epidurals

during childbirth and anaesthesia for C-sections.
 CARDIOLOGY

 The department as the name suggests deals with problems of the

human heart or circulation. It treats people on an inpatient and
outpatient basis. Some of their procedures include:

 Electrocardiogram (ECG) and exercise tests to measure the heart

function
 Ultrasound scan of the heart ( Echocardiogram)
 Scans of the carotid artery in the neck to determine risks of stroke
 24 hour blood pressure tests
 Insertion of pacemakers
 Coronary angiography to see if there are any blocks in the arteries
 Medical diagnosis and treatment of congenital heart defects,
coronary artery disease, heart failure, valvular heart disease and
electrophysiology
 Cardiac surgery
 CRITICAL CARE

 This department also known as the Intensive Care Unit (ICU)

provides treatment for seriously ill patients.

 Certain patients need to be isolated and require close and

individual medical attention.

 The ICU has very few beds and is usually manned by

specialist doctors and nurses as well as consultant
anaesthetists, physiotherapists and dieticians.

 Patients can be transferred from any department to the ICU

in case the patient’s condition gets worse.
 EARS, NOSE AND THROAT

 As the name suggests, this department deals with ailments

concerned with the Ear, nose and throat and it includes treatment
of a variety of ailments like:

 General ear, nose and throat diseases

 Neck lumps
 Cancers of the head and neck area
 Tear duct problems
 Facial skin lesions
 Balance and hearing disorders
 Snoring and sleep apnoea
 ENT allergy problems
 Salivary gland diseases
 Voice disorders
 ENT surgical procedures
 GERIATRICS

 This department is usually manned with doctors

specialised in geriatric medicine. Since the elderly suffer
from a range of illnesses and seek treatment for:
 Stroke
 Gastroenterology
 Diabetes
 Locomotor problems
 Continence problems
 Syncope
 Bone disease

 This department also provides a range of community

services like home visits, mobile therapy units,
palliative care, and this department is often linked to
other community centres.
 GASTROENTEROLOGY

 This department deals with bowel related-medicine. It is

usually run by specialist consultants and they investigate
and treat upper and lower gastrointestinal diseases, as well
as diseases of the pancreas and bile duct system. It also
involves endoscopy and nutritional services. Some sub
specialties include:
 Colorectal surgery
 Inflammatory bowel disease
 Swallowing problems

 Special nurses are often posted in this department and they

are capable of performing a wide range of bowel
investigations.
 GENERAL SURGERY

 This department as the name suggests includes a wide

variety of surgical procedures that include:
 Day surgery

 Thyroid surgery

 Kidney transplants

 Colon surgery

 Laparoscopic cholecystectomy (gall bladder removal)

 Endoscopy

 Breast surgery

 Day surgeries see a lot of patients coming in for minor

surgeries such as hernia repairs, piles, ... These procedures
are normally performed by general surgeons and do not
normally require special surgeons.
 GYNAECOLOGY

 This department deals with the investigation and treatment

of problems of the female urinary tract and reproductive
system.

 Infertility, incontinence and endometritis are some of the

problems investigated in this department. Other services
include cervical smear screen and post-menopausal bleeding
checks.

 This department usually has a special ward, day surgery

unit, an emergency gynaecology assessment unit and
outpatient clinics.
 HAEMATOLOGY

 This department can be part and parcel of the hospital

laboratory or work closely with the hospital laboratory.

 Haematology includes the study of etiology, diagnosis,

treatment, prognosis, and prevention of blood diseases that
affect the production of blood and its components, such
as blood cells, hemoglobin, blood proteins, and the
mechanism of coagulation.

 The laboratory work that goes into the study of blood is

frequently performed by a medical technologist.

 Haematologists also conduct studies in oncology—the

medical treatment of cancer.
 MATERNITY/NEONATAL/PAEDIATRICS

 All facilities concerning giving birth and child care is

provided in this department. In some hospitals these can be
divided into three different departments but most general
hospitals provide this care under one department itself.

 Some of the facilities or treatments include:

 Child birth
 Midwifery
 Antenatal and post natal care
 Pregnancy check ups
 Surgical procedures on children or mothers
 NEUROLOGY

 Neurology deals with the human nervous system. The doctors in

this department investigate and treat patients for problems that
affect their brain and spinal cord.
 Surgical procedures on the brain and spinal cord are extremely
dangerous and require highly qualified and experienced doctors
and nurses to provide such special care.
 Neurologists examine patients who have been referred to them
by other physicians in both the inpatient and outpatient settings.
 A neurologist will begin their interaction with a patient by taking
a comprehensive medical history, and then perform a physical
examination focusing on evaluating the nervous system.
 Components of the neurological examination include assessment
of the patient's cognitive function, cranial nerves, motor strength,
sensation, reflexes, coordination, and gait.
 ONCOLOGY

 This department investigates and treats all kinds of cancers and

provides a wide range of chemotherapy treatments and
radiotherapy for cancerous tumours and blood disorders.

 This department is usually linked to all the other departments as

referrals can be made when one department cannot diagnose the
patient’s problem.

 This department also requires highly qualified and experienced

doctors and nurses.

 Doctors also carry out tumour removal procedures which are then
sent for biopsy to confirm whether the tumour is malignant or not.
 OPTHALMOLOGY

 This department deals with the investigation and treatment

of eye problems of adults and children. Their services
include:

 General eye clinic appointments

 Laser treatments
 Optometry
 Orthoptics
 Prosthetic eye services
 Ophthalmic imaging
 ORTHOPEDICS

 This department deals with problems that affect the

musculoskeletal system.

 That includes treating bones, muscles, tendons, ligaments,

and nerves.

 Services include bone setting, surgeries to repair damaged

bones or ligaments or tendons, replacing bones like hip
replacement, knee cap replacement ...

 Other outpatient services also include treating fractures and

dislocated joints, musculoskeletal injuries and soft tissue
injuries.
 UROLOGY

 This department is usually a surgical department led by

surgeons that perform certain specific services like:

 Flexible cystoscopy bladder checks

 Urodynamic research
 Prostate assessments and biopsies
 Shockwave lithotripsy to break up kidney stones
 PSYCHIATRY

 This department deals with investigating and treating

patients with a wide range of mental illnesses and disorders.
Some services include:

 Providing psychosocial counselling

 Investigating, diagnosing and treating psychiatric illnesses

 Conducting IQ tests

 Deaddiction services
 OUTPATIENT

 In this department people come to the hospital only for a consult

and not admission.

 The patients seek medical advice from a specific department

depending on their problem and doctors provide a prescription of
medication for them to take for a certain period of time.

 Patients are then asked to come back for a follow up. Patient’s
treatment within the boundaries of the hospital lasts only a day.

 Outpatient department runs for specific time during the day.

 Consultant doctors are usually brought in to handle OPD.

 INPATIENT

 This department admits patients at least overnight for

treatment.

 Here a case history of the patient will be taken and the

patient will have a case sheet in which his progress will
be recorded.

 Patients are monitored throughout the day by nurses

and doctors come on rounds to check on the patients
conditions.

 The duration of stay will depend on severity of the

patient’s illness.
 CENTRAL STERILIZATION UNIT

 This department is in charge of keeping all the

instruments used in the hospital clean and
sterilised to avoid spreading of infections
throughout the hospital.

 They follow a strict procedure for sterilizing

medical and surgical instruments.
 HOUSEKEEPING

 This department is in charge of keeping the

hospital clean and neat.

 It involves doing the laundry and cleaning all the

rooms of the hospital and effectively disposing of
medical waste according to strict hospital
disposal procedures.
 CATERING AND FOOD SERVICES

 This department provides food services to

inpatients, their families and staff of the hospital
based on a nutritional menu provided by the
Nutrition Department.
 MEDICAL SOCIAL WORK

 This department manned with medical social

workers help patients and their families deal
with a broad range of psychosocial issues and
stresses related to coping with illness and
maintaining health.

 This department addresses the challenges

families face, increase accessibility to healthcare,
and serves as a bridge between the doctors and
the individual, family, and community.
 PHYSIOTHERAPY

 This department aims at rehabilitating patients.

 Mostly linked to the orthopaedics department

this department offers a wide range of body
healing therapies that will help a patient resume
normal functioning.

 This department offers outpatient as well as

inpatient services.
 PHARMACY

 Every hospital must be equipped with a pharmacy

which provides drugs for the entire hospital. It not only
provides medication for patients but also provides
other drugs and instruments used by all the
departments in the hospital for patient care or
surgeries... Run by a pharmacist the pharmacy provides
the following services:

 Purchase, supply and distribution of medication and

pharmaceuticals
 Inpatient and outpatient dispensing
 Clinical and ward pharmacy

 Doctors are usually given a formulary of medication by

the pharmacy to use as a guide.
 NUTRITION AND DIETITICS

 This department is manned with specialist in nutrition and dietetics.

They are assigned to provide professional advice on diet for
hospital inpatient wards as well as outpatient departments.

 Certain departments require that the patient be put on a diet and

therefore the team works with many other departments that treat:

 Diabetes
 Cancer
 Kidney problems
 Paediatrics
 Elderly care
 Surgery and critical care
 Gastroenterology

 These specialists can also suggest a dietary chart to be followed by

the hospital canteen to ensure that all patients get nutritious food
during their stay at the hospital.
 MICROBIOLOGY

 This department deals with the microbial and

viral aspects of medicine.

 This department is very important as the number

of hospital-acquired infections is on the rise.

 These doctors usually carry out tests on samples

from surgeries sent from various other
departments and submit reports following
biopsy.
 DIAGNOSTIC IMAGING

 Also known as the department of radiology, this department

provides the following services:

 General radiology (X-rays)

 Scans for Accidents and Emergency
 Mammography (breast scans)
 Ultrasound scans
 Angiography (x-ray of blood vessels)
 Interventional Radiology (minimal invasive procedures)
 CT scanning
 MRI scanning (3D scans using magnetic and radio waves)

 Patients are sent to this department for the above mentioned

services as other departments do not have the required devices to
perform diagnostic imaging. After the service is provided, reports
will be given about the imaging and that report will have to be
handed over to the department from which the imaging was
requested.
 MEDICAL RECORDS

 This department deals with recording, and

maintaining all the records/files of inpatients as
well as outpatients.

 It is with these records that medical statistics can

be formulated and it serves as a reference for
future purposes.
 MEDICAL MAINTENANCE & ENGINEERING

 This department makes sure that the hospital is in

operable condition.

 It makes plans and carries out various projects

for the hospital.

 This department makes sure that all electrical

facilities are in perfect condition, carries out
repair and replacement work for air-conditioning
units, plumbing, steel works, and general takes
care of the overall maintenance of the hospital.
 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY &
COMMUNICATION

 All hospitals today use computers to keep track of

patient records and other medically related affairs.

 Therefore this department is in charge of providing

technical support as when needed and keep the
systems updated and provide support when systems
crash.

 They also aim to provide effective online services for

patients and help to keep the entire hospital informed
of certain events that take place within the hospital.
 HUMAN RESOURCES

 This department is given the objective of recruiting

efficient human resources for the hospital.

 It also has the duty of creating policies and

procedures that the staff have to follow in the
hospital.

 It aims at ensuring employee satisfaction, good

working conditions and provision of monetary and
non monetary benefits for the employees.

 It is also responsible for providing compensation for

the services rendered by the employees.
 FINANCE

 This department looks after the financial aspects

of the hospital.

 They make budgets, financial plans for the future

and allocate financial resources to the various
departments of the hospital for their
upgradation.

 They also provide wage statements for the staff

and oversee purchases of medical supplies and
pharmaceuticals for the hospital.
 ADMINISTRATION

 This department is in charge of looking after the

day to day operations of the hospital.

 They look after all the paper work of hospital

and ensure that every department follows
administrative procedures of the hospital.