A term widely used in the NHS to show the number of people waiting for hospital admission, usually for non-acute surgery. The size of the waiting list has come to be perceived over the past 20 years– especially by politicians – as a measure of the Service’s e?ectiveness. To the individual patient, however, what matters is the ‘waiting time’ – how long they have to wait before admission. This ?gure – along with the time a patient has to wait for an outpatient appointment to see a consultant – is increasingly being recognised as one important measurement of how well a hospital is serving its local communities.
a list of the patients awaiting admission to hospital after having been assessed either as an out-patient or on a *domiciliary consultation involving a specialist. In general the patients are offered places in the order in which their names were placed on the list, but in certain circumstances (e.g. if the condition is potentially dangerous or painful) the consultant may recommend urgent or even immediate admission. One of the variables recorded in relation to hospital admissions is the length of time between the name being placed on the list and the patient being admitted (waiting time). General practitioners may also request direct admission (immediate) for urgent cases who have not been seen by the consultant; such admission may be arranged by phone with the consultant or his or her deputy, or via the accident and emergency department of the hospital.
A rare disease, although the causal organism, Listeria monocytogenes, is widely distributed in soil, silage, water, and various animals, with consequent risk of food contamination – for example, from unpasteurised soft cheese. Neonates are mainly affected – often as a result of a mild or inapparent infection in the pregnant mother. The disease presents in two main forms: MENINGOENCEPHALITIS, or SEPTICAEMIA with enlarged LYMPH glands. Elderly adults occasionally develop the ?rst form, while younger adults are more likely to develop a mild or even inapparent form. The disease is treated with ANTIBIOTICS such as ampicillin (see PENICILLIN) or CHLORAMPHENICOL.... listeriosis
National Listening Library is a charity which produces recorded books for handicapped people who cannot read, with the exception of the blind who have their own separate organisation, the Royal National Institute for the Blind. (See also CALIBRE.)... national listening library
a device for helping people with hearing difficulties. An assistive listening device can be a stand-alone device or can work in conjunction with a *hearing aid or *cochlear implant. Assistive listening devices include *induction loop systems, amplifiers for telephones, and radio headphones to wear when listening to the radio or television. Such devices increase the loudness of the desired sound without increasing the level of any background noise; i.e. they improve the signal-to-noise ratio. See also environmental hearing aid.... assistive listening device
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