Hospitals treat patients of various ages and illnesses and are divided into units specialized to provide the best care possible. Besides the practical and medical reasons for the division of hospitals into different wards, the mental well-being of the patients is also an important aspect. These are some of the units that you can find in a hospital:
Emergency Room (ER)
If you call an ambulance in an emergency you will be taken to this unit. This ward usually treats patients who have been in some accident and need urgent treatment. It operates 24 hours a day and it is equipped to handle all kinds of emergencies. This is where life-threatening situations are taken care of, but minor injuries are also treated here by the nurses of the ER.
Maternity
This is ward provides antenatal care and care during birth. It is equipped to treat routine and complicated pregnancies. They have delivery rooms where babies are born instead of operating rooms. In some hospitals they provide special rooms with a cosy atmosphere so that the expectant mothers feel less stressed and more relaxed. You can also find new-born care facilities here; postnatal care with incubators and other medical equipment make sure both the mother and the baby are healthy.
Paediatrics
The paediatrics ward is where children are treated and made comfortable. The paediatrics nurses and the medical staff want to keep the children as happy as possible because it makes them forget that they are sick. This is why there are playrooms in such wards instead of waiting lounges.
Geriatrics
Elderly people are cared for here.
Cardiology
The cardiology ward treats patients who have problems with their heart or circulation. You can have electrocardiograms (ECG) done here to measure heart function and also ultrasound scans of the heart.
Gastroenterology
This ward takes care of patients suffering from gastrointestinal diseases and provides endoscopy and nutritional services.
Neurology
Patients that have nervous system disorders, need brain and spinal cord related treatment are taken care of in this ward.
Gynaecology
This is the department where women can go with problems related to the female urinary tract and reproductive organs. Endometritis, infertility and incontinence are treated also treated here, for example.
Urology
The urology department deals with patients that have kidney and bladder related problems.
Rheumatology
This unit provides diagnosis and treatment for patients suffering from musculoskeletal disorders (bones, joints, ligaments, tendons, muscles and nerves). Sometimes it is necessary to direct the patients to the orthopaedic department for the appropriate treatment.
General surgery
This is the ward where all kinds of surgery are performed. It may be anything from day surgery to breast surgery and all kinds of transplants.
Psychiatrics
Patients suffering from mental illnesses are treated here. They can be under observation or under treatment. Because of this, some areas of the psychiatric unit may have limited or controlled access. The psychiatric unit usually has special rooms used for individual or group counselling.
Oncology
Patient suffering from cancers and tumours are treated here.
to be divided into – essere divisi in
besides – accanto
ward – corsia, reparto
well-being – benessere
aspect – aspetto
ambulance – ambulanza
emergency – emergenza
to be equipped – essere equipaggiato
to handle – gestire
life-threatening situation – situazioni di pericolo di vita
minor injury – infortunio minore
to provide antenatal care – fornire cure prenatali
pregnancy – gravidanza
delivery room – sala parto
cosy atmosphere – atmosfera accogliente
expectant mother – gestante
new-born – neonato
paediatrics – pediatri
medical staff – staff medico
elderly people – persone anziane
circulation – circolazione
heart function – funzioni del cuore
ultrasound scan – ecografia
nutritional services – servizi nutrizionali
nervous system disorder – disordine al sistema nervoso
spinal cord – midollo spnale
urinary tract – infezione del tratto urinario
reproductive organ – organo riproduttivo
infertility – infertilità
incontinence – incontinenza
bladder – vescica
ligament – legamento
tendon – tendine
appropriate – appropriato
surgery – chirurgia
transplant – trapianto
mental illness – malattie mentali
under observation – sotto osservazione
under treatment – sotto trattamento
limited access – accesso limitato
controlled access – accesso controllato
counselling – terapia
tumour – tumore
