Combined City Hospital

Combined city hospital is the main curative-prophylactic establishment in the city. The majority of city hospitals is many-aspected, i.e. they include departments of different specialities. There are possibilities for entire medical observation of the patients and complex treatment in such hospitals. The structure of the combined hospital:

1. HOSPITAL MANAGEMENT: staff and clerk office, medical statistics study, medical archives room, bookkeeper's room, library.

2. CURATIVE DIVISION: reception room (ward), medical department (unit): therapeutic, surgical, traumatologic, oncologic, urologic, ophthalmologic, otorhinolaryngologic, infectious, tuberculous, pediatric, gynecological, obstetrical and others, depending on the hospital capacity and profile.

AUXILIARY DIAGNOSTIC DEPARTMENTS (ROOMS): roentgenological, physiotherapeutic, curative medicine, etc.

LABORATORIES: clinical, biochemical, bacteriological, serological, etc.

PATHOANATOMICAL DEPARTMENT.

RESUSCITATION DEPARTMENT, INTENSIVE CARE (THERAPY) DEPARTMENT.

3. ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISION: kitchen, laundry, garage, barns, etc.

4. POLYCLINICS (polyclinical department).

Doctor-in-chief managers the staff and he is responsible for medical and economic activity of the hospital as a whole. Every department is headed by the Deputy Doctor. He guides curative work at the department, carries out everyday morning rounds, consults ordinators, discharges patients, checks up the curative indications.

There are nurses and junior medical staff at every department. The duties of a ward nurse include all kinds of care for a patient. She admits the patient, teaches him on regime, order of the hospital, takes part in doctors’ morning rounds, records and carries out all the doctor’s directions. She takes the temperature, gives medicines, makes injections, collects the material for laboratory analyses, follows sanitary-hygienic conditions of the wards and so on. Great importance is given to the role of a senior nurse of the department. All the paramedical personnel are subjected to her. In every large hospital there is a senior hospital nurse in the staff. She is subjected to the Chief Doctor and his Deputies (substitutes). She presides the Council of the Nurses of the hospital. She may be called the hostess of the hospital.

Interviewing the Doctor-in-Chief about the work of the Hospital

R: Good afternoon, Professor. I'm Nina Belova, a correspondent of the TV program "Medicine for you".

D: Good afternoon. Welcome to our hospital.

R: Thank you. Could you answer some of my questions about your hospital?

D: Sure. What would you like to know?

R: My first question is: When was your hospital founded?

D: It was founded in 1990. The first part of the main building was completed in 1996. The hospital continues to grow and will soon have a new wing.

R: That's clear. What is the patient workload/capacity of your hospital?

D: Our hospital, is a 400-bed medical treatment facility. The normal patient workload of the hospital is 400 patients.

R: I see. What kind of medical care can a patient receive in the hospital?

D: The hospital offers a spectrum of medical services to satisfy various medical requirements. It gives patients care in more than 30 medical specialities.

R: Really? The next thing I'd like to know is: How many and what departments is your hospital composed of?

D: The hospital is currently composed of the following departments: the reception (admitting) office, surgical unit, therapeutical, traumatological, ophthalmological departments, the department of infectious diseases, ear-nose-throat department, the intensive care unit, laboratory, physiotherapy and X- ray rooms.

R: Is there an emergency department? And what patients does it serve?

D: Yes, there is. It serves trauma and other categories of patients who have critical medical problems.

R: Is your hospital (department) staffed completely, I wonder?

D: No, three physicians and five nurses are lacking, sorry to say that.

R: What a shame (pity)! How many patients are admitted to the hospital daily?

D: The average daily patient load (number of admissions) is 40.

R: What is the average number of occupied bed days (length of stay)?

D: It is 18 to 20 days.

R: How well is the hospital equipped?

D: The hospital contains advanced equipment to perform such sophisticated techniques as X-­ray examination including contrast techniques, ultrasonography examination, computerized axial tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, hyperbaric oxygenation, etc. There are also well-equipped intensive therapy wards in our hospital. The management computer system is used for the purposes of administration and medical statistics.

R: Sounds great! Thank you, professor, for this valuable information. I was pleased to meet you. And I'd like to wish you successful work.

D: The pleasure was mine. Good luck to you. And good health too.