HOSPITAL

A Hospital is an institution in which sick or injured persons are treated. A Hospital in Steadmans Medical Dictionary is defined as An institution for the care, cure and treatment of the sick and wounded for the study of diseases and for the training of doctors and nurses.

WHO DEFINITION
A Hospital is an integral part of a social and medical organization, the function of which is to provide for the population complete health care, both curative and preventive, and whose outpatient services reach out to the family and its home environment; the hospital is also a centre for the training of health workers and bio-social research.

HOSPITAL MANAGEMENT
Hospital management deals with 1. Giving quality service to maintain good health. 2. Ensuring uninterrupted supply of consumable and nonconsumable items. 3. Personal management. 4. Maintenance of building and equipments. 5. Disaster preparedness for natural calamities, accidental mishaps.etc.

FUNCTIONS OF THE HOSPITAL

1. 2.

To provide care for the sick and injured. To provide ancillary or support services-dietary service, laundry, pharmacy, laboratory, security.etc.

3. Prevention of disease and promotion of health. 4. Training of physicians, nurses and other personnel. 5. Research and Innovation.

DIFFERENT TYPES OF HOSPITALS

Hospitals can be classified into different categories; A. Classification according to clinical basis B. Classification according to ownership/control

A. CLASSIFICATION ACCORDING TO CLINICAL BASIS

1. General Hospital :

- Staffed by at leased 2 or more medical officers. - Offer inpatient accommodation. - Provide active medical and nursing care for more than one category of medical discipline.

2. Speciality Hospital :

- Provides Medical and nursing care primarily for one discipline or a Specific disease. - Eg. TB, Leprosy, OBGY, Mental Health, Cancer, Infectious diseases, Veneral diseases.etc. - The specialized depts., administratively attached to a General Hospital.

3.

SuperSpeciality Hospital:

- Super Speciality Hospital requires :

(a) (b)
(c)

Highly sophisticated diagnostic equipment Therapeutic Equipments

Skilled Staff eg. Cardiac Surgery, Neurosurgery, Kidney Transplantation.etc.

4. Isolation Hospital:

- For the care of persons suffering from infectious diseases requiring isolation of patients.

5.

Teaching Hospital:

- Hospital to which a college is attached for medical? Dental education.

B. ACCORDING TO OWNERSHIP /CONTROL:

1. Public Hospitals :

- Run by the central/state Govt or local bodies. - May be general Hospitals or Speciality or Super Speciality Hospitals - Eg. Hospitals run by Railways, military, ESI, Public sector undertaking, Police Hospital, Corporation Hospital, Municipal/Panchayat Hospital..etc.

2. Voluntary Hospitals :

- Established under societies registration act or public trust act. - Run with public or private funds on a non-commercial basis. - Main sources of their revenue are Public and Private donations Grants in-aid from central/state Govt.etc.
-

Run on a No Profit No Loss basis.

3. Private Nursing Homes:

- Generally owned by individual doctor or a group of doctors. - Admit patients suffering from advanced age, illness, injury, chronic disability, alcoholism, drug addiction or mental illness. - Run on a commercial basis. - Popular due to shortage of Gove & Voluntary hospitals. - Wealthy patients do not want to get treatment in public Hospitals due to long queues of patients and shortage of medical staff.

4. Corporate Hospital :

- Public limited companies formed under the companies Act. - They are normally run on commercial lines. - They can be either General or Speciality Hospital or both.