Sickbay

Sickbay is the area of a starship that oversees the health and wellness of the crew.

Design

Please note that these descriptions match the standard model of the Sickbay layout depicted and may not match the preferences of individual Chief Medical Officers.

Class 1 Sickbay Layout

The Class 1 Sickbay is a small, spartan Sickbay that is designed to provide basic care, initial evaluation, stabilization, and diagnostic capabilities to patients. Containing four recovery biobeds only, this Sickbay is equipped with extremely limited surgical facilities and was primarily intended to stabilize patients until they could be delivered to a nearby friendly medical facility on either a larger vessel or a starbase. Many times vessels outfitted with this design of Sickbay may not even have a fully trained Medical Officer aboard during assignments. At times these vessels are sometimes launched with a staff member aboard who can stabilize a patient during transit to another facility - such as a corpsman, medic, or a trauma-trained nurse. Surprisingly, when coupled with the limitations of the Class 1 design, this Sickbay is also not normally outfitted with an Emergency Medical Holographic Program at this time. This design also features very limited laboratory capability and basic level diagnostic equipment.

Class 2 Sickbay Layout

Designed to provide basic care, initial evaluation, stabilization, and diagnostics of a patient aboard a starship the Class 2 Sickbay is slightly larger than the Class 1 layout. A circular chamber, the Class 2 Sickbay features a built in laboratory section and a wall mounted workstation for the on duty Medical Officer. A biobed is located centrally in the room and has been outfitted with advanced medical sensor technologies that can assist with the diagnosing and treatment of a patient as well as 3 recovery biobeds for patients. A Class 2 Sickbay may also provide surgery and critical-care services to patients and are normally launched with, at minimum, a Medical Officer aboard and a nurse trained in trauma medicine. In the event of emergencies requiring additional support the Class 2 Sickbay has been outfitted with holoprojectors and has a base level Emergency Medical Hologram installed aboard.

Class 3 Sickbay Layout

Equipped with an intensive-care unit (ICU), laboratory, and surgical suite, the Class 3 Sickbay is an advanced medical center may not have the full availability of specialists, but does have resources for emergency resuscitation, surgery, and care of most patients it encounters. Located in the main ward opposite the entrance was a surgical suite outfitted with a sophisticated sensor cluster and surgical support frame. Adjacent to it were 3 biobeds in the Sickbay's ICU that could be utilized for surgery if necessary. In the center of the medical center is an office for the on call Medical Officer where he or she may work on their own projects when not seeing patients. A small medical laboratory is installed in the Sickbay for the investigation of any ailment affecting a crewmember. In the event that a crew member were lost a small morgue was also located here. Due to the enhanced risks of deep space assignments this design has been outfitted with an EMH program.

Class 4 Sickbay Layout

One of the largest and most capable Sickbays available, the Class 4 Sickbay provides comprehensive trauma care and 24-hour availability of all essential specialties, personnel, and equipment including pediatric medicine. Consisting of three separate chambers the main ward is outfitted with four recovery biobeds and a centralized surgical biobed outfitted with a large overhead sensor cluster and surgical support frame. Equipment storage and various control panels have been installed with an emphasis on providing the fastest, most efficient care possible for a patient. A small foyer connects the main ward to a Medical Laboratory and an office that can be used by the on duty Medical Officer. Adjacent to this area are additional surgical suites, laboratories, and private recovery rooms. The Class 4 Sickbay is capable of running multiple copies of the Emergency Medical Holographic program at any given time and, on some larger vessels of the Class 4 design, a Long Term Medical Hologram may be installed.

Class 5 Sickbay Layout

The largest Sickbay design, the Class 5 Sickbay has a full range of specialists and equipment available to patients 24 hours a day. One of the most important elements of this design is the presence of multiple general surgeons and prompt availability of care in varying specialties at any given time including the LMH and multiple copies of the EMH. The Class 5 design features three main components. Visitors enter to a small waiting area connected to the main clinic which features eight multipurpose biobeds - including one specifically assigned for surgical functions - that can be used for quick diagnosis and treatment of patients. Twin workstations are located centrally in this area and an office is available along the rear wall for private consultation. Ward 2 and 3 are currently assigned as the ICU areas for this design and featured 8 recovery biobeds and two, semi-private surgical suites for patient treatment. Per studies a critical patient being treated in a Class 5 facility has his or her chances of survival increased by an estimated 20 to 25 percent.

See Also

• Bridge
• Engineering

Real World

Sickbay is the soul of a Starship and is one of the most common locations featured in our role playing games. A special thanks to Ex Astris Scientia for their detailed gallery of Starship Interiors.

Disclaimer

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