Hospital: From 3 Different Sources
An institution providing treatment for sick and injured persons. This may be done on an inpatient or outpatient basis. A hospital provides investigative and therapeutic services which are not available on a domiciliary basis.
Hospitals are broadly divided into general hospitals (available in each district in the United Kingdom) and hospitals specialising in particular ailments (e.g. ophthalmology; ear, nose and throat; neurology, etc.). In addition there are teaching hospitals which have the dual function of patient care and the education of medical sta?. (See NATIONAL HEALTH SERVICE (NHS).)
In the UK all patients are entitled to hospital care provided by their NHS trust when referred by their GENERAL PRACTITIONER (GP) or admitted via the Accident & Emergency department. (In exceptional cases, patients with severe mental illness can be compulsorily admitted by the authorities.) Admission will depend on clinical priority, as demand commonly exceeds supply of beds in some localities. Private hospital care is available under the care of a consultant of choice, provided that the patient is covered by appropriate private medical insurance or can pay direct the substantial hospital and medical fees.
The future development of hospital medicine is controversial, but the long-term future may well see many fewer, much better equipped, highly specialised hospitals for patients requiring high-technology-based treatments. These might be backed up with a range of smaller general (or halfway) hospitals caring for patients with less demanding clinical needs who nevertheless require some bed-based care. Many more patients requiring routine specialist treatment will be treated as day patients than is the case now, and there will (or should) be much greater emphasis (with appropriate resources) on PREVENTIVE MEDICINE.
Britain is experimenting with a prototype ‘virtual hospital’. The project will target hospital patients who need to remain under the care of specialists but whose condition can be managed at home. Suitable NHS patients will be provided with monitoring equipment that enables them, for example, to read their own blood pressure, lung and heart functions, with the results transferred electronically to the o?ce of relevant specialists who will prescribe and monitor treatment.
An institution the primary function of which is to provide inpatient diagnostic and therapeutic services for a variety of medical conditions, both surgical and nonsurgical. Most hospitals provide some outpatient services, particularly emergency care.
n. an institution providing medical or psychiatric care and treatment of patients. Such care may be residential (in-patient), including the care of patients for a whole day and their return home at night (day care). Out-patient services include consultation with specialists by prior appointment, X-rays, laboratory tests, physiotherapy, and accident and emergency services for those requiring urgent care. Most health districts have a district general hospital (DGH), which provides sufficient basic services for the population of the district. Some larger hospitals have resources that are more highly specialized, to meet the needs of a wider population, providing so-called regional or supraregional (national) services. Such hospitals often provide training for medical students (teaching or university hospitals) and for postgraduate education. Some smaller hospitals – known as community hospitals – may be staffed by general practitioners and are intended for people for whom home care is not practicable on social grounds. Within the NHS, individual hospitals or groups of hospitals are generally part of *foundation trusts, deriving their income largely from contracts with *clinical commissioning groups. There are also around 400 private hospitals in the UK, which operate outside of the NHS, though some are contracted to provide some NHS services.
A facility, which may be attached to an acute hospital, geriatric centre or nursing home, providing non-residential care, such as medical care, nursing care, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, podiatry, speech therapy and counselling services, usually during the day.... day hospital
A medical condition for which hospitalization could have been avoided if ambulatory care had been provided in a timely and efficient manner.... avoidable hospital condition / admission
A facility that serves patients who do not need acute care or care in another kind of specialty hospital and whose needs for frequency of monitoring by a medical practitioner and for frequency and duration of nursing care exceed the requirements for care in a comprehensive care or extended care facility.... chronic hospital
A hospital providing a variety of services, including medicine and surgery, to meet the general medical needs of the community it serves.... general hospital
A hospital which, not only provides high quality comprehensive medical and nursing services, but also develops a corporate identity that embraces the aims of health promotion; develops a health-promoting organizational structure and culture, including active, participatory roles for patients and all members of staff; develops itself into a health-promoting physical environment; and actively cooperates with its community.... health-promoting hospital
Schemes providing nursing care, personal care or practical help for older people who have returned home after a stay in hospital.... home-from-hospital / hospital after-care schemes
A scheme which ensures a smooth transition from hospital to home.... hospital discharge scheme
Home-based specialist medical care used to shorten hospital stays or prevent hospital admission.... hospital-at-home scheme
A hospital that specializes in providing restorative services to rehabilitate chronically ill and/or disabled individuals to a maximum level of functioning.... rehabilitation hospital
A hospital that admits only certain types of patients or those with specified illnesses or conditions. Examples include psychiatric hospitals and rehabilitation hospitals for the older population.... specialty hospital
A hospital that provides education for students in the health professions.... teaching hospital
See HOSPITAL.... virtual hospital
see hospital.... community hospital
see foundation trusts.... foundation hospitals
(HES) (in England) a database containing data on all admissions to NHS hospitals and admissions of NHS patients treated elsewhere. See record linkage.... hospital episode statistics
see case fatality rate.... hospital fatality rate
see nosocomial infection.... hospital infection
a social worker employed to assist hospital patients with social problems that may arise through illness. See also social services.... hospital social worker
(secure hospitals) hospitals for the care of mentally ill patients who are also dangerous and must therefore be kept securely. The level of security can be low, medium, or high. Most (but not all) patients are there compulsorily under a hospital order made by a court according to the *Mental Health Act 1983.... special hospitals
in the USA, a hospital that is owned or operated by a religious organization or community association to provide health-care facilities on a non-profit basis. In recent decades the role of voluntary hospitals has changed from one of caring primarily for *charity patients to one of serving all members of a community. At the same time, the practice of charging higher fees to patients able to afford them in order to compensate for the expense of caring for charity patients has generally been eliminated.... voluntary hospital
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