A Community hospital can be purely a nominal designation or have a more specific meaning. Specific mention of Community hospitals is encountered in the following countries:-

Thailand

In Thailand, community hospital is a specific classification of public hospitals with a capacity of 150 beds or less. They serve local populations in provincial districts, providing primary care

Primary care

Primary care is the term for the health services by providers who act as the principal point of consultation for patients within a health care system...

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England

The (non-statutory) phrase is used in England in a similar manner to Scotland. Actual arrangements will be under legislation applicable to the English NHS

National Health Service (England)

The National Health Service or NHS is the publicly funded healthcare system in England. It is both the largest and oldest single-payer healthcare system in the world. It is able to function in the way that it does because it is primarily funded through the general taxation system, similar to how...

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Northern Ireland

In Northern Ireland the phrase has similar use to Scotland but official publications give the appearance of community hospitals being more recent as a concept rather than a mere description.

Scotland

"Community Hospital" is not a statutory phrase but it is used in relation to hospitals which have been described as "a local hospital, unit or centre providing an appropriate range and format of accessible health care facilities and resources" http://www.scotcommhosp.org.uk/. These hospitals are typically small, using either purpose-built new premises or smaller general hospitals which have been retained to provide non-emergency services after general hospital services have been transferred to more centralised facilities; in some cases the services include in-patient care.

Wales

The (non-statutory) phrase is used in Wales in a similar (but possibly less restricted) manner to Scotland. Actual arrangements will be under legislation applicable to NHS Wales/Gig Cymru.

External links

• The Community Hospitals Association - deals with all UK countries