A hospital is a place where people stay to have medical treatment. It is also a center for health care, research and education. Hospitals provide medical, surgical, and psychiatric services. They may be public or private. They often have a large staff and are equipped for emergency care. Hospitals may be located in towns or cities. Some are specialized in certain fields of medicine, such as cancer, heart disease, or mental illness. They can also be specialized in types of surgery, such as open heart surgery or brain surgery.
A good hospital should have excellent patient outcomes and a positive patient experience. It should also have well-trained doctors and nurses; state-of-the-art equipment and techniques; and evidence-based practices. In addition, a good hospital should be stable and financially viable.
Patients enter hospital doors at their most vulnerable, seeking not only to get better but to find comfort. They want to be treated with empathy by health professionals who communicate clearly, and explain ‘here is what we will do’. The best hospitals understand that patient-centricity goes beyond putting up posters and wayfinding signs: it is embedded in the culture of their entire organisation.
Many people go to hospital for tests and treatment and leave without staying overnight (“outpatients”). Others are admitted and stay in the hospital for several days, weeks, or months (inpatients). The hospital might be a public or private institution. It may be a teaching hospital, providing education for medical students. It might have a range of support departments such as pharmacy, radiology, and pathology.
Some of the largest and best hospitals in the world are found in Europe. For example, Germany’s Charite – linked to the Universitatsmedizin Berlin – made 7th in Newsweek’s ranking of the world’s best hospitals. In France, the AP-HP – Hopital Universitaire Pitie Salpetriere – came 8th in the Newsweek ranking.
The hospital was originally a place of hospitality, for the sick and injured. Its name comes from the Latin hospitium, meaning ‘place of hospitality’. The first hospitals were small and local, but over time they developed into larger, more comprehensive centres for the treatment of the sick and injured. They were also places of learning, and doctors and surgeons learned from each other by observing and discussing their work.
Today’s hospitals have much more sophisticated equipment than their predecessors, but they still focus on caring for people. They are usually staffed by a large number of doctors and nurses, as well as other healthcare professionals such as pharmacists and physiotherapists. Some hospitals specialise in particular conditions such as cancer or heart disease; others are general, or tertiary, hospitals that are equipped to deal with almost any kind of illness or injury. Some hospitals are dedicated to particular groups of patients, such as the elderly or women. Other hospitals are research institutions, developing new medicines and treatments, and testing them on patients. They also play a vital role in training future doctors and other healthcare professionals.