An institution providing treatment for sick and injured persons. This may be done on an inpatient or outpatient basis. A hospital provides investigative and therapeutic services which are not available on a domiciliary basis.

They are broadly divided into general hospitals (available in each district in the United Kingdom, and referred to as providing secondary care as opposed to the primary care of general practitioners, pharmacists or community nurses); and hospitals specialising in particular ailments (e.g. ophthalmology; ear, nose and throat; neurology, etc. referred to as tertiary care). In addition there are university hospitals which have the dual function of patient care and the education of medical staff. (See NATIONAL HEALTH SERVICE.)

In the UK all patients are entitled to hospital care provided by their NHS trust (see NATIONAL HEALTH SERVICE) when referred by their GENERAL PRACTITIONER (GP) or admitted via an Accident & Emergency department. (In exceptional cases, patients with severe mental illness can be compulsorily admitted by the authorities.) Admission will depend on clinical priority, as demand commonly exceeds supply of beds in some localities. Private hospital care is available under the care of a consultant of choice, provided that the patient is covered by appropriate insurance or can pay directly the substantial hospital and medical fees.

The future development of hospital medicine is uncertain, but the long-term future may well see fewer, larger, much better equipped, and highly specialised hospitals for patients requiring high-technology-based treatments. These might be backed up with a range of smaller general hospitals caring for patients with less demanding clinical needs, but who nevertheless require some bed-based care. Many more patients requiring routine specialist treatment will be treated as day patients than is the case now, and there will (or should) be much greater emphasis (with appropriate resources) on PREVENTIVE MEDICINE.