Community hospital
Acommunity hospitalcan be purely a nominal designation or have a more specific meaning. When specific, it refers to ahospitalthat is accessible to the generalpublic,and provides a general or specificmedical carewhich is usually short-term, in a cost-effective setting, and also focuses on preventing illnesses and not only treating them.[1][2][3]The wordcommunityoften occurs in the name of the hospital. The wordcommunityis used in the sense of alocation-based communityfor a community hospital. The following sections describe community hospitals when referred to in specific countries.
Singapore
[edit]![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/de/Outram_Community_Hospital.jpg/220px-Outram_Community_Hospital.jpg)
In Singapore, community hospitals are a class of hospitals that provide continuation of care after discharge from acute hospitals, including rehabilitation and therapy.[citation needed]
Thailand
[edit]In Thailand,community hospitalis a specific classification of public hospitals with a capacity of 150 beds or fewer. They serve local populations in provincial districts, providingprimary care.[citation needed]
United Kingdom
[edit]![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/19/Richmond_Community_Hospital_-_geograph.org.uk_-_987330.jpg/220px-Richmond_Community_Hospital_-_geograph.org.uk_-_987330.jpg)
An older term "cottage hospital"is now no longer applicable, having fallen from use because it inadequately describes the wide range of services being offered by their more modern equivalents.[4]For many years the development of community hospitals was ad hoc, reflecting history rather than any rational planning.[5]
England
[edit]The (non-statutory) phrase is used in England in a similar manner to Scotland. Actual arrangements will be under legislation applicable to the EnglishNHS.
Northern Ireland
[edit]In Northern Ireland the phrase has similar use to Scotland but official publications give the appearance ofcommunity hospitalsbeing more recent as a concept rather than a mere description.
Scotland
[edit]![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a0/Leith_Community_Treatment_Centre_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1274770.jpg/220px-Leith_Community_Treatment_Centre_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1274770.jpg)
"Community Hospital" is not astatutoryphrase but it is often used where there is "a unit or centre providing an appropriate range and format of accessible health care facilities and resources".[6]Medical care is normally led byGPs,in liaison withconsultant,nursingandallied health professional colleaguesas necessary. These hospitals are typically small, using either purpose-built new premises or smallergeneral hospitalswhich have been retained to provide non-emergency services after general hospital services have been transferred to more centralised facilities; in some cases the services includein-patientcare. Community hospitals can assist multidisciplinary working and can be used as an extended primary care resource.[7]Community hospitals provide over 2,900 inpatient beds and over 750,000 outpatient, allied health professional and nurse led appointments. In many rural and remote communities this allows access to more specialised services and inpatient facilities closer to home.[8]
Wales
[edit]![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/81/Chepstow_Community_Hospital_-_geograph.org.uk_-_300923.jpg/220px-Chepstow_Community_Hospital_-_geograph.org.uk_-_300923.jpg)
The (non-statutory) phrase is used in Wales in a similar (but possibly less restricted) manner to Scotland. Some are named as community hospitals and many more are also listed as having this function.[9]Some community hospitals have been chosen to act as a hub for services.[10]Actual arrangements will be under legislation applicable toNHS Wales/Gig Cymru.
United States
[edit]![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c2/Ashland_%28oregon%29_community_hospital.jpg/220px-Ashland_%28oregon%29_community_hospital.jpg)
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/7/7c/Community_Hospital_of_San_Bernardino.jpg/220px-Community_Hospital_of_San_Bernardino.jpg)
The American Hospital Association (AHA) defines community hospitals as “all nonfederal, short-term general, and other special hospitals.” Health associations and hospital rating organizations, however, typically also say thatteaching hospitalsare not community hospitals. Some further restrict the community hospital definition to only include independently run facilities serving a local demographic. A basic definition, therefore, is a hospital serving a local community, run by local leaders, providing financial opportunities for the local economy. A community hospital can be either rural or urban.[11]
Africa
[edit]![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e4/Bwindi_Community_Hospital%27s_family_planning_lobby.jpg/220px-Bwindi_Community_Hospital%27s_family_planning_lobby.jpg)
Many of the rural hospitals in Africa are small, community hospitals.
Algeria
Algeria has 273 community hospitals denotedEPSP,which stands foretablissement de sante de publique de proximitein French. Polyclinics are also used at the community level. There is an average of one polyclinic per 25,000 inhabitants in Algeria.[12]
References
[edit]- ^"Is the Community Hospital a Dying Model, or is it the Future of Healthcare?".Becker's Hospital Review and ASC Communications. July 13, 2012.Archivedfrom the original on November 16, 2017.RetrievedDecember 24,2020.
- ^"Fast Facts on US Hospitals".The American Hospital Association.Archivedfrom the original on 2020-05-26.Retrieved2013-07-21.
- ^"American Psychological Association (APA): community hospital. (n.d.). Dictionary 's 21st Century Lexicon. Retrieved July 21, 2013".Archivedfrom the original on September 15, 2015.RetrievedJuly 21,2013.
- ^"Community Hospital"(PDF).Royal College of Nursing. March 2007. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 2014-05-13.Retrieved2014-05-12.
- ^Heaney, David (2006)."Community hospitals – the place of local service provision in a modernising NHS: an integrative thematic literature".BMC Public Health.6:309.doi:10.1186/1471-2458-6-309.PMC1769373.PMID17184517.
- ^Richie LD, Community hospitals in Scotland; promoting progress, Department of General Practice and Primary Care, University of Aberdeen, 1996
- ^"Building a Health Service Fit for the Future Volume 2: A Guide for the NHS"(PDF).Scottish Government. 23 May 2005. pp. 169–170.
- ^"Community Hospitals: Strategy Refresh"(PDF).Scottish Government. 20 Apr 2012.
- ^"Hospitals".NHS Wales.Archivedfrom the original on 24 December 2020.Retrieved20 May2014.
- ^"Hospitals in Communities".NHS Wales. Archived fromthe originalon 20 May 2014.Retrieved20 May2014.
- ^"The modern definition of a community hospital".Beckers Hospital Review.July 8, 2015.Archivedfrom the original on 24 December 2020.Retrieved6 July2018.
- ^"Investment in expanding clinics and hospitals improving Algeria's health indicators".Oxford Business Group.RetrievedMay 17,2020.