a. where you go to collect medicine

b. where you go to arrange a meeting with a medical professional

2 RECEPTION

a. where you go to meet a doctor

b. where you go when you first arrive at the hospital

3 RADIOLOGY

a. where you go to take images of your bones or organs

b. where you go if you have had an accident

4 WHEELCHAIRS

a. where you go to get a chair on wheels for someone who can't walk

b. where you go to lie down after a medical inspection

5 WARDS

a. large rooms in a hospital where patients stay and are treated

b. rooms where medical equipment is kept

6 E.R.

a. the emergency room - patients who have had accidents are treated

b. the electricity room - the room that supplies a hospital with its power

7 INTENSIVE CARE

a. the section of a hospital where seriously ill patients receive constant care

b. the section of the hospital that treats broken bones

8 MATERNITY UNIT

a. the part of the hospital where babies are born

b. the part of the hospital where all female patients are treated

9 AMBULANCES ONLY

a. only hospital emergency vehicles can stop here

b. a special car park for medical staff

10 PATHOLOGY DEPARTMENT

a. where samples from body tissue are studied

b. where nurses are trained

What's wrong with you

Can you match up these medical terms with their meanings?

1 What are 'antibiotics'?

2 What is someone's 'blood count'?

3 What is a 'blood donor'?

4 What is a 'plaster'?

5 What are 'crutches'?

6 What does 'life-threatening' mean?

7 What are 'pain killers'?

8 What are 'side-effects'?

a. a hard bandage that is wrapped around a broken bone to help it set

b. sticks you use to help you walk if you have a leg injury

c. a doctor who deals with a specialised condition

d. medicine that kills bacteria and cures infections

e. medicine that puts a patient to sleep

f. medicine that takes away the pain of an injury or illness

g. so ill or badly injured that a person may die

h. the amount of red and white blood cells a person has

i. other symptoms that are caused as a result of taking a particular medicine

j. someone who gives blood to a blood bank or to another person

Signs and situations

You are in the following situations in a hospital. What sign would you look for to get you to where you want to go?

1 You don't know where you have to go to see a certain doctor. Where would you go to find out? _______________

2 You are here to visit your neighbour who has just had a baby. _______________

3 Your have brought your grandma to the hospital for tests. She is too weak to walk all the way to where you have to go. What do you need to help you in this situation? _______________

4 You have been told to come back and see Dr Black next week sometime. Where do you go to get this organised? _______________

5 You have come to the hospital to visit an old uncle who has had a heart attack and is seriously ill. Where is he? _______________

6 You have come to the hospital with your friend who has badly cut his hand. Where do you go? _______________

7 You have come to the hospital to visit a friend who has had his tonsils removed. _______________

8 The doctor thinks you might have broken your wrist. Where does he send you? _______________

Answers:

Reading the signs: 1. b, 2. b, 3. a, 4. a, 5. a, 6. a, 7. a, 8. a, 9. a, 10. a

What's wrong with you: 1. d, 2. h, 3. j, 4. a, 5. b, 6. g, 7. f, 8. i

Signs & situations: 1. reception, 2. maternity unit, 3. wheelchairs, 4. appointments, 5. intensive care, 6. E. R., 7. wards, 8. radiology