Question

Wards

The Hope Hospital has 17 wards with a total of 240 beds available for short- and long-term patients, and an outpatient clinic. Each ward is uniquely identified by a number (for example, ward 11) and also a ward name (for example, Orthopedic), location (for example, E Block), total number of beds, and telephone extension number (for example, Extn. 7711).

Staff 

The Hospital has a Medical Director, who has overall responsibility for the management of the hospital. The Medical Director maintains control over the use of the hospital resources (including staff, beds, and supplies) in the provision of cost-effective treatment for all patients. 

The Hospital has a Personnel Officer, who is responsible for ensuring that the appropriate number and type of staff are allocated to each ward and the outpatient1 clinic. The information stored for each member of staff includes a staff number, name (first and last), full address, telephone number, date of birth, gender, insurance number, position held, current salary, and salary scale. It also includes each member’s qualifications (which includes date of qualification, type, and name of institution), and work experience details (which includes the name of the organization, position, and start and finish dates).

The type of employment contract for each member of staff is also recorded, including the number of hours worked per week, whether the member of staff is on permanent basis or temporary contract, and the type of salary payment (weekly/ monthly).

Each ward and the outpatient clinic has a member of staff with the position of Charge Nurse. The Charge Nurse is responsible for overseeing the day-to-day operation of the ward/clinic. The Charge Nurse is allocated a budget to run the ward and must ensure that all resources (staff, beds, and supplies) are used effectively in the care of patients. The Medical Director works closely with the Charge Nurses to ensure the efficient running of the hospital.

A Charge Nurse is responsible for setting up a weekly staff rotation and must ensure that the ward/clinic has the correct number and type of staff on duty at any time during the day or night. In a given week, each member of staff is assigned to work an early, late, or night shift.

As well as the Charge Nurse, each ward is allocated senior and junior nurses, doctors and auxiliaries. Specialist staff (for example, consultants and physiotherapists) are allocated to several wards or the clinic.

Patients 

When a patient is first referred to the hospital, he or she is allocated a unique patient number. At this time, additional details of the patient are also recorded, including name (first and last), address, telephone number, date of birth, gender, marital status, date registered with the hospital, and the details of the patient’s next-of-kin.

Patient’s next-of-kin 

The details of a patient’s next-of-kin are recorded, which includes the next-of-kin’s full name, relationship to the patient, address, and telephone number.

Local doctors 

Patients are normally referred to the hospital by their local doctor. The details of local doctors are held, including their full name, clinic number, address, and telephone number. The clinic number is unique.

Patient appointments 

When a patient is referred by his or her doctor to attend the Hospital, the patient is given an appointment for an examination by a hospital consultant. 

Each appointment is given a unique appointment number. The details of each patient’s appointment are recorded and include the name and staff number of the consultant performing the examination, the date and time of the appointment, and the examination room (for example, Room E252).

As a result of the examination, the patient is either recommended to attend the outpatient clinic or is placed on a waiting list until a bed can be found in an appropriate ward.

Outpatients 

The details of outpatients are stored and include the patient number, name (first and last), address, telephone number, date of birth, gender, and the date and time of the appointment at the outpatient clinic.