A hospital is an institution devoted to the care and treatment of sick people. Do you know when and how did hospitals come into being?
The history of hospitals began in Babylonia, Greece and India. These early hospitals were temples. Very little medicines were given to patients. Hospitals existed in Ceylon (Sri Lanka) in 437 B.C. and were established in India somewhat earlier during the time of Buddha. Eighteen hospitals built by Emperor Ashoka in 3rd century B.C. are said to have some characteristics similar to modern hospitals.
The advent of Christianity gave impetus to the establishment of hospitals. Their growth accelerated during the crusades which began by the end of the 11th century.
Three persons – Florence Nightingale, Louis Pasteur, and Lord Lister contributed most to the growth of hospitals in modern times. Florence Nightingale known as the ‘Lady with the Lamp’ was a great reformer of hospital conditions and re-organizer of nurses training programmes.
Louis Pasteur contributed a lot in germ theory and Lord Lister put his research in practice. Developments in anaesthesia made it possible to perform major and more difficult operations.
The first hospital in North America was built in Mexico City in 1524 by Cortez. The French established a hospital in Canada in 1639 at Quebec City.
During the 20th century, outstanding contributions have been made by scientists in the field of medicine and surgery. As a result, the number of hospitals has greatly increased. Today we have private hospitals, military hospitals, general hospitals and also specialized hospitals for mental diseases, tuberculosis, heart diseases, cancer and eye disorders etc.
The largest hospital in the world is the District Medical Centre in Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A. It covers 478 acres and includes five hospitals, with a total of 5600 beds. At present China has the greatest number of hospitals — 61929 in 1989.