Different Departments Required in a Hospital

This presentation though long is a brief presentation on the different departments required for a hospital to run. Apt info for those having hospital administration as a paper

1. DEPARTMENTS REQUIRED IN A HOSPITAL

2. 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.”

3. MEDICAL DEPARTMENTS IN A HOSPITAL

4. 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.

5. 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.

6. 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

7. 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 patient’s condition gets worse.

8. 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

9. 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.

10. GASTROENTEROLOGY This department deals with bowel related-medicine. 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.

11. 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.

12. 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.

13. 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 oncology—the medical treatment of cancer.

14. 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

15. 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.

16. 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 patient’s 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.

17. 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

18. 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.

19. 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

20. 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

21. 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. Patient’s 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.

22. 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 patient’s illness.

23. SUPPORTIVE DEPARTMENTS IN A HOSPITAL

24. 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.

25. 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.

26. 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.

27. 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.

28. 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.

29. 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.

30. 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.

31. 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.

32. 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.

33. ADMINISTRATIVE DEPARTMENTS IN A HOSPITAL

34. 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.

35. 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.

36. 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.

37. 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.

38. 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.

39. 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.

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