A group of Hospital Beds with associated treatment facilities managed as a single unit for the purposes of staffing and treatment responsibilities. All the rooms in a small hospital may be managed by one senior NURSE and as a single unit and thus they would comprise one WARD. A WARD may be available all the time or for only limited time periods during the day or week.

A critical care unit will comprise one WARD if the Hospital Beds and associated treatment facilities are managed as a single unit.

Maternity wards of the same 'type' on the same site should for national purposes be treated as one WARD, so that a PATIENT moving between them is not counted as a transfer between WARDS. For local purposes it may be useful to identify separately such transfers. Facilities specifically used for delivery in maternity wards should be included as WARDS, or annexed to WARDS.

This class is also known by these names:

Context	Alias
plural	WARDS