Different Departments Required in a Hospital

1. 1. 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.
2. 2. 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.
3. 3. 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.
4. 4. 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

5. 5. 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 patients condition
gets worse.
6. 6. 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
7. 7. 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.
8. 8. GASTROENTEROLOGY This department deals with bowel relatedmedicine. 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.
9. 9. 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.
10.10. 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.
11.11. 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 oncologythe medical treatment of cancer.
12.12. 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
13.13. 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.
14.14. 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 patients 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.

15.15. 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
16.16. 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.
17.17. 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
18.18. 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
19.19. 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. Patients 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.
20.20. 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 patients illness.
21.21. 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.

22.22. 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.
23.23. 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.
24.24. 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.
25.25. 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.
26.26. 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.
27.27. 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.
28.28. 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.
29.29. 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.
30.30. 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.
31.31. 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.
32.32. 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.
33.33. 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.

34.34. 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.
35.35. 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.

Hospital departments
1. 1. Hospital DepartmentsYou Need to KnowPronunciation and Descriptions
2. 2. Surgery This department performs procedures tofix problems inside the
body.
3. 3. NICU Neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) When babies are born too early
and orhave serious problems they are placed inthis special care unit.
4. 4. Pediatrics This department deals with the care ofchildren.
5. 5. Oncology This is the cancer department. Oncologylooks at cells under a
microscope.
6. 6. Radiology Uses imaging of the human body to helpfind problems.
7. 7. Sterilization This department is responsible for cleaningall of the
equipment and tools used insurgery.
8. 8. Blood Lab This department draws blood and sends itout for testing.
9. 9. Billing This department ensures the hospital getspaid for services given.
10.10. Chaplain This department (usually one person)meets the spiritual needs
of patients andhelps with extra needs.
11.11. Infusion Infusion lounge is where a patient goes tosit and get fluids or
medicine in them usingan IV bag connected to a needle. Manycancer patients
get their medicine this way.
12.12. Volunteers The volunteer department is made up ofmostly teenagers
interested in the medicalfield or seniors (60s, 70s or 80s) who havetime to
donate hours to the hospital.
13.13. Maternity The maternity ward is where women go tohave their babies.
14.14. Cafeteria Some hospitals have excellent head chefsserving breakfast,
lunch and dinner.
15.15. Administration The Admin runs the hospitals business.
16.16. Patient Advocate If a hospital patient has a problem with ahospital
service or billing dispute thehospital offers their advocate.The advocateis on
the patients side and helps resolve theproblem.
17.17. Gift Shop The gift shop is a store in the hospital.Thegift shop is run
mostly by volunteers.

18.18. Biomedical Repair The biomed department is for fixinghospital

equipment from a simple repair tomore complicated machines.
19.19. ICU The intensive care unit or ICU is forpatients who are very sick or
injured.Theyare very fragile patients.
20.20. Emergency Room The ER is for urgent care. Patients canwalk in or they
are delivered by ambulance.
21.21. Pharmacy The pharmacy is where patients go to fill aprescription.This is
where you get yourmedicine.
22.22. Short term floor Many hospitals have a short term floor forpatients who
need to stay for 1, 2, or 3days. All the patients on this floor areshort term.
23.23. Long term floor Many hospitals have long term floors.Thesepatients are
hospitalized for weeks.
24.24. Pediatric Wing/Floor The kids wing or kids floor keeps allthe
children together. Everything is smalland usually colorful.The doctors and
nursesare specialized to work with children.
25.25. Recovery The recovery department is for healingpatients after surgery.
26.26. Ultrasound Ultrasound is used for medical imaging onhumans (and
animals).

Allergist or Immunologist - conducts the diagnosis and treatment of allergic conditions.

Anesthesiologist - treats chronic pain syndromes; administers anesthesia and monitors the patient
during surgery.
Cardiologist - treats heart disease
Dermatologist -treats skin diseases, including some skin cancers
Gastroenterologist - treats stomach disorders
Hematologist/Oncologist - treats diseases of the blood and blood-forming tissues (oncology
including cancer and other tumors)
Internal Medicine Physician - treats diseases and disorders of internal structures of the body.
Nephrologist - treats kidney diseases.
Neurologist - treats diseases and disorders of the nervous system.
Neurosurgeon - conducts surgery of the nervous system.
Obstetrician - treats women during pregnancy and childbirth
Gynecologist - treats diseases of the female reproductive system and genital tract.
Nurse-Midwifery - manages a woman's health care, especially during pregnancy, delivery, and the
postpartum period.
Occupational Medicine Physician - diagnoses and treats work-related disease or injury.
Ophthalmologist - treats eye defects, injuries, and diseases.
Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon - surgically treats diseases, injuries, and defects of the hard and
soft tissues of the face, mouth, and jaws.
Orthopaedic Surgeon - preserves and restores the function of the musculoskeletal system.
Otolaryngologist (Head and Neck Surgeon) - treats diseases of the ear, nose, and throat,and some
diseases of the head and neck, including facial plastic surgery.
Pathologist - diagnoses and treats the study of the changes in body tissues and organs which cause
or are caused by disease
Pediatrician - treats infants, toddlers, children and teenagers.
Plastic Surgeon - restores, reconstructs, corrects or improves in the shape and appearance of
damaged body structures, especially the face.

Podiatrist - provides medical and surgical treatment of the foot.

Psychiatrist - treats patients with mental and emotional disorders.
Pulmonary Medicine Physician - diagnoses and treats lung disorders.
Radiation Onconlogist - diagnoses and treats disorders with the use of diagnostic imaging,
including X-rays, sound waves, radioactive substances, and magnetic fields.
Diagnostic Radiologist - diagnoses and medically treats diseases and disorders of internal
structures of the body.
Rheumatologist - treats rheumatic diseases, or conditions characterized by inflammation, soreness
and stiffness of muscles, and pain in joints and associated structures
Urologist - diagnoses and treats the male and female urinary tract and the male reproductive
system