Hospitals play an important role in the health care system. They are health care institutions that have an organized medical and other professional staff, and inpatient facilities, and deliver medical, nursing and related services 24 hours per day, 7 days per week.
A hospital is an institution that is built, staffed, and equipped for the diagnosis of disease; for the treatment, both medical and surgical, of the sick and the injured; and for their housing during this process. The modern hospital also often serves as a centre for investigation and for teaching.
To better serve the wide-ranging needs of the community, the modern hospital has often developed outpatient facilities, as well as emergency, psychiatric, and rehabilitation services. In addition, “bedless hospitals” provide strictly ambulatory (outpatient) care and day surgery. Patients arrive at the facility for short appointments. They may also stay for treatment in surgical or medical units for part of a day or for a full day, after which they are discharged for follow-up by a primary care health provider.
Hospitals offer a varying range of acute, and terminal care using diagnostic and curative services in response to acute and chronic conditions arising from diseases as well as injuries and genetic anomalies. In doing so they generate essential information for research, education and management.
Traditionally oriented on individual care, hospitals are increasingly forging closer links with other parts of the health sector and communities in an effort to optimize the use of resources for the promotion and protection of individual and collective health status.
