The main Sickbay facilities are located together on the same deck. This arrangement facilitates the efficient operations of one of the most important areas of the ship. Patients can be examined, tests made, surgery performed, and recuperation accomplished within a relatively small area. Medical personnel are able to perform multiple, simultaneous tasks because of this arrangement and, therefore, fewer crewmembers are needed to perform the same level of tasking.

The Main Examination Center located on the periphery of the complex in close proximity to turbolifts, is the first place a crewmember reports if in need of medical assistance. Initial examinations and classification of the injury or disease process are accomplished here. Once the patient is diagnosed, he or she can be directed to the appropriate area for treatment. Minor problems can be resolved by the examining physician or technologist. All other areas of Main Sickbay are accessible from the Main Examination Center.

Located adjacent to the Examination Center, the Chief Medical Officer’s Office provides the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) with the privacy required for consultations, meetings, and other appropriate activities. From the CMOs computer terminal diagnostics results, patient records and histories, the current life-signs readouts of any Sickbay bed, and the Medical database stored in the Main Computer Library can be accessed.

The CMOs Office has two main areas: a conference room and a central area.

A Secondary Sickbay is located just beneath the forward bulkhead of the Shuttlebay. This complex contains a main examination area and a 22-bed ward, both of which are scaled-down versions of Main Sickbay facilities. It is utilized for overflow patients and during mass casualty situations for patients with minor Injuries so that Main Sickbay can handle more serious cases. During normal operations, Secondary Sickbay is not manned by Medical personnel, although all equipment and supplies are inspected on a regular basis.

As in any modern medical complex, patients have differing needs. Some require around-the-clock observation and care, while others have lesser requirements. Three different wards are provided to handle this variety of care levels

In some cases, a patient may display symptoms of a disease, which is highly contagious. These diseases may be airborne or spread by contact. To prevent infection of the remainder of the crew or other patients, an Isolation Ward segregates these types of patients. Designed to handle up to six patients with completely different disease manifestations, each isolation chamber can be programmed for a wide variety of atmospheric and gravity requirements should the particular disease warrant a change from normal shipboard conditions.

No one can enter an isolation chamber in the ward without the appropriate code and authorized BSC entered into the chamber door control panel. An attempt at unauthorized entrance causes the ward to be sealed and an alarm to be sounded in both the CMOs Office and the Security Duty Office.

Seriously injured personnel and those requiring close monitoring of disease processes, are placed into the Critical/Intensive Care Unit. Biobeds for seven patients and a nursing station are in this compartment.

Up to seven patients can utilize the Recovery Ward simultaneously. It is used as a post-operative staging room where the biomedical status of patients can be closely monitored. Should circumstances dictate, a patent may remain in this Ward for several hours. Any patient who is kept for observation (overnight, for example) will remain in this Ward.

Patients who require longer-term recuperation are placed into one of the 12 private rooms