νοσοκομείο = public hospital? No
- Thread starter cosmasad
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Considering that most private clinics are rather smaller than hospitals, that there are only a handful of hospital-sized private establishments in Greece (mostly in major cities, and often specialising on maternity or psychiatric care) and that most hospitals in the country are public, I'd expect most people who use the word νοσοκομείο to have a public hospital in mind, especially in case of an emergency.
I don't think there's a strict definition, however. The Henry Dunant Hospital Center in Athens is also known as a hospital in Greek, and it's always been private; others started off as private foundations and were later integrated into the National Health System, such as "Evangelismos" (also in Athens). Judging from the title of this list, and the fact that the word νοσοκομείο doesn't really appear as such in the legal titles of the businesses named there – even for establishments with hundreds of beds – it is possible that a legal distinction exists. We do find νοσοκομείο in two cases of charitable foundations in the islands of Aegina and Hydra, but they are very small; historically they may be entitled to the name, but I doubt people would refer to them as "hospitals" in everyday speech.
Someone who lives in a place where people actually visit private hospitals might have more to say, but I think it's generally a matter of size. It rather reminds me of how the word city is used in the United Kingdom, where official and everyday use differs.
I don't think there's a strict definition, however. The Henry Dunant Hospital Center in Athens is also known as a hospital in Greek, and it's always been private; others started off as private foundations and were later integrated into the National Health System, such as "Evangelismos" (also in Athens). Judging from the title of this list, and the fact that the word νοσοκομείο doesn't really appear as such in the legal titles of the businesses named there – even for establishments with hundreds of beds – it is possible that a legal distinction exists. We do find νοσοκομείο in two cases of charitable foundations in the islands of Aegina and Hydra, but they are very small; historically they may be entitled to the name, but I doubt people would refer to them as "hospitals" in everyday speech.
Someone who lives in a place where people actually visit private hospitals might have more to say, but I think it's generally a matter of size. It rather reminds me of how the word city is used in the United Kingdom, where official and everyday use differs.
cougr
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By law, for an establishment to be called an "ιδιωτικό νοσοκομείο", amongst other criteria, it is required to have a minimum of 200 beds, facilities for the provision of surgical services and an intensive care unit. I think it is largely due to this last criterion which precludes even some of the larger and well-equipped "ιδιωτικές κλινικές" - which to all intents and purposes are hospitals - from using the term "νοσοκομείο".
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cougr
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In my experience, that is largely correct. Bear in mind though, apart from some of the points made in the posts above, that there are also a few smaller public hospitals or specialist units associated with public hospitals that are referred to as "δημόσιες κλινικές".
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I don't think this is the case. In Athens there are a few big private hospitals, such as Hygeia, Onassio and Metropolitan, plus several maternity hospitals that also offer other gynaecological treatments. It can't be assumed that νοσοκομείο = public hospital, and none of these hospitals is a κλινική.
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