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 emergencydepartment deals with patients who have been brought in byan ambulance in an emergency situation. Sometimes patientsfind their own way to this department to in case they have hadan accident or seek immediate treatment.

This department works 24/7 and is equipped to deal with allsorts of emergencies. The patients are assessed according to thedegree of injury or emergency and then provided immediatetreatment before being sent to a specialised department forfurther treatment.

The Platt Report in 1962 gave birth to the official title of“Accident and Emergency Service”. This report stated theprovisions that are to be followed for the smooth functioning ofthis department.

ANEASTHETICS

Doctors in this department administer anaesthesia forpatients for various procedures and surgeries. Theyprovide the following services:

Acute pain services post surgery

Chronic pain services for patients suffering from bonerelated illnesses like arthritis

Critical care services for those suffering from trauma

Obstetrics anaesthesia and analgesia like epiduralsduring childbirth and anaesthesia for C-sections.

CARDIOLOGY

The department as the name suggests deals with problems of thehuman heart or circulation. It treats people on an inpatient andoutpatient basis. Some of their procedures include:

Electrocardiogram (ECG) and exercise tests to measure the heartfunction

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 andelectrophysiology

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 andindividual medical attention.

The ICU has very few beds and is usually manned byspecialist doctors and nurses as well as consultantanaesthetists, physiotherapists and dieticians.

Patients can be transferred from any department to the ICUin case the patient’s condition gets worse.

EARS, NOSE AND THROAT

As the name suggests, this department deals with ailmentsconcerned with the Ear, nose and throat and it includes treatmentof 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 doctorsspecialised in geriatric medicine. Since the elderly sufferfrom 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 communityservices like home visits, mobile therapy units,palliative care, and this department is often linked toother community centres.

GASTROENTEROLOGY

This department deals with bowel related-medicine. It isusually run by specialist consultants and they investigateand treat upper and lower gastrointestinal diseases, as wellas diseases of the pancreas and bile duct system. It alsoinvolves endoscopy and nutritional services. Some subspecialties include:

Colorectal surgery

Inflammatory bowel disease

Swallowing problems

Special nurses are often posted in this department and theyare capable of performing a wide range of bowelinvestigations.

GENERAL SURGERY

This department as the name suggests includes a widevariety 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 minorsurgeries such as hernia repairs, piles, ... These proceduresare normally performed by general surgeons and do notnormally require special surgeons.

GYNAECOLOGY

This department deals with the investigation and treatmentof problems of the female urinary tract and reproductivesystem.

Infertility, incontinence and endometritis are some of theproblems investigated in this department. Other servicesinclude cervical smear screen and post-menopausal bleedingchecks.

This department usually has a special ward, day surgeryunit, an emergency gynaecology assessment unit andoutpatient clinics.

HAEMATOLOGY

This department can be part and parcel of the hospitallaboratory or work closely with the hospital laboratory.

Haematology includes the study of etiology, diagnosis,treatment, prognosis, and prevention of blood diseases thataffect the production of blood and its components, suchas blood cells, hemoglobin, blood proteins, and themechanism of coagulation.

The laboratory work that goes into the study of blood isfrequently performed by a medical technologist.

Haematologists also conduct studies in oncology—themedical treatment of cancer.

MATERNITY/NEONATAL/PAEDIATRICS

All facilities concerning giving birth and child care isprovided in this department. In some hospitals these can bedivided into three different departments but most generalhospitals 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 inthis department investigate and treat patients for problems thataffect their brain and spinal cord.

Surgical procedures on the brain and spinal cord are extremelydangerous and require highly qualified and experienced doctorsand nurses to provide such special care.

Neurologists examine patients who have been referred to themby other physicians in both the inpatient and outpatient settings.

A neurologist will begin their interaction with a patient by takinga comprehensive medical history, and then perform a physicalexamination focusing on evaluating the nervous system.

Components of the neurological examination include assessmentof the patient's cognitive function, cranial nerves, motor strength,sensation, reflexes, coordination, and gait.

ONCOLOGY

This department investigates and treats all kinds of cancers andprovides a wide range of chemotherapy treatments andradiotherapy for cancerous tumours and blood disorders.

This department is usually linked to all the other departments asreferrals can be made when one department cannot diagnose thepatient’s problem.

This department also requires highly qualified and experienceddoctors and nurses.

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

OPTHALMOLOGY

This department deals with the investigation and treatmentof eye problems of adults and children. Their servicesinclude:

General eye clinic appointments

Laser treatments

Optometry

Orthoptics

Prosthetic eye services

Ophthalmic imaging

ORTHOPEDICS

This department deals with problems that affect themusculoskeletal system.

That includes treating bones, muscles, tendons, ligaments,and nerves.

Services include bone setting, surgeries to repair damagedbones or ligaments or tendons, replacing bones like hipreplacement, knee cap replacement ...

Other outpatient services also include treating fractures anddislocated joints, musculoskeletal injuries and soft tissueinjuries.

UROLOGY

This department is usually a surgical department led bysurgeons 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 treatingpatients 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 consultand not admission.

The patients seek medical advice from a specific departmentdepending on their problem and doctors provide a prescription ofmedication for them to take for a certain period of time.

Patients are then asked to come back for a follow up. Patient’streatment 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 fortreatment.

Here a case history of the patient will be taken and thepatient will have a case sheet in which his progress willbe recorded.

Patients are monitored throughout the day by nursesand doctors come on rounds to check on the patientsconditions.

The duration of stay will depend on severity of thepatient’s illness.

CENTRAL STERILIZATION UNIT

This department is in charge of keeping all theinstruments used in the hospital clean andsterilised to avoid spreading of infectionsthroughout the hospital.

They follow a strict procedure for sterilizingmedical and surgical instruments.

HOUSEKEEPING

This department is in charge of keeping thehospital clean and neat.

It involves doing the laundry and cleaning all therooms of the hospital and effectively disposing ofmedical waste according to strict hospitaldisposal procedures.

CATERING AND FOOD SERVICES

This department provides food services toinpatients, their families and staff of the hospitalbased on a nutritional menu provided by theNutrition Department.

MEDICAL SOCIAL WORK

This department manned with medical socialworkers help patients and their families dealwith a broad range of psychosocial issues andstresses related to coping with illness andmaintaining health.

This department addresses the challengesfamilies face, increase accessibility to healthcare,and serves as a bridge between the doctors andthe individual, family, and community.

PHYSIOTHERAPY

This department aims at rehabilitating patients.

Mostly linked to the orthopaedics departmentthis department offers a wide range of bodyhealing therapies that will help a patient resumenormal functioning.

This department offers outpatient as well asinpatient services.

PHARMACY

Every hospital must be equipped with a pharmacywhich provides drugs for the entire hospital. It not onlyprovides medication for patients but also providesother drugs and instruments used by all thedepartments in the hospital for patient care orsurgeries... Run by a pharmacist the pharmacy providesthe following services:

Purchase, supply and distribution of medication andpharmaceuticals

Inpatient and outpatient dispensing Clinical and ward pharmacy

Doctors are usually given a formulary of medication bythe 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 forhospital inpatient wards as well as outpatient departments.

Certain departments require that the patient be put on a diet andtherefore 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 bythe hospital canteen to ensure that all patients get nutritious foodduring their stay at the hospital.

MICROBIOLOGY

This department deals with the microbial andviral aspects of medicine.

This department is very important as the numberof hospital-acquired infections is on the rise.

These doctors usually carry out tests on samplesfrom surgeries sent from various otherdepartments and submit reports followingbiopsy.

DIAGNOSTIC IMAGING

Also known as the department of radiology, this departmentprovides 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 mentionedservices as other departments do not have the required devices toperform diagnostic imaging. After the service is provided, reportswill be given about the imaging and that report will have to behanded over to the department from which the imaging wasrequested.

MEDICAL RECORDS

This department deals with recording, andmaintaining all the records/files of inpatients aswell as outpatients.

It is with these records that medical statistics canbe formulated and it serves as a reference forfuture purposes.

MEDICAL MAINTENANCE & ENGINEERING

This department makes sure that the hospital is inoperable condition.

It makes plans and carries out various projectsfor the hospital.

This department makes sure that all electricalfacilities are in perfect condition, carries outrepair and replacement work for air-conditioningunits, plumbing, steel works, and general takescare of the overall maintenance of the hospital.

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY & COMMUNICATION

All hospitals today use computers to keep track ofpatient records and other medically related affairs.

Therefore this department is in charge of providingtechnical support as when needed and keep thesystems updated and provide support when systemscrash.

They also aim to provide effective online services forpatients and help to keep the entire hospital informedof certain events that take place within the hospital.

HUMAN RESOURCES

This department is given the objective of recruitingefficient human resources for the hospital.

It also has the duty of creating policies andprocedures that the staff have to follow in thehospital.

It aims at ensuring employee satisfaction, goodworking conditions and provision of monetary andnon monetary benefits for the employees.

It is also responsible for providing compensation forthe services rendered by the employees.

FINANCE

This department looks after the financial aspectsof the hospital.

They make budgets, financial plans for the futureand allocate financial resources to the variousdepartments of the hospital for theirupgradation.

They also provide wage statements for the staffand oversee purchases of medical supplies andpharmaceuticals for the hospital.

ADMINISTRATION

This department is in charge of looking after theday to day operations of the hospital.

They look after all the paper work of hospitaland ensure that every department followsadministrative procedures of the hospital.