What is a hospital – and what happens there?
[“This is one of our sillier articles” MyHSN Ed]
The film “Airplane!” (1980)
Leslie Nielsen as Doctor Rumack: “This woman has got to be taken to a hospital”
Elaine Dickinson: “A hospital? What is it?”
Rumack: “It’s a big building with patients, but that’s not important right now.”
What is a hospital and what does it do?
More seriously, a hospital is an institution that is built, staffed, and equipped for the diagnosis of disease; and for the treatment of medical and surgical, unwell and injured people; and for their housing during this process.
The modern hospital also often serves as a centre for investigation, medical research and teaching.
What’s in a hospital?
The modern large hospital has a range of services: accident and emergency, medical (meaning non-surgical) surgical wards, operating theatres, intensive and coronary care, laboratories, and psychiatric rehabilitation care. There are other types of hospital described here.
In addition, most hospitals provide outpatient services, and day surgery. Outpatient clinic appointments are typically 30 mins for a new referral and 15 mins for a follow-up. Day surgery can be 15 mins to 3 hours.
Where does the word ‘hospital’ come from?
Let’s first think about the word ‘hospital’. It is a Middle English word derived from Old French, via the medieval Latin word ‘hospitale’, from the Latin ‘hospitalis’ (meaning hospitable), from Latin ‘hospes’ (host, guest, stranger).
The earliest documented general hospital was built in 805 AD, in Baghdad, by the vizier to the caliph Harun al-Rashid. There is more about the early history of hospitals in the Islamic World here.
Summary
We have described what is a hospital and what happens there – and where the word comes from. We hope you understand them better now.
