
Epidemics are a common occurrence in Theme Hospital and can be challenging to manage, especially in a large hospital with many patients and staff. While it is impossible to completely prevent epidemics, there are several strategies players can employ to limit their impact and reduce the chances of an outbreak. These strategies include maintaining a clean hospital with sufficient janitors and handymen, hiring skilled nurses and doctors, building multiple GP offices and pharmacies, and keeping patient queues short. Players can also choose to cover up epidemics by curing infected patients before the Minister of Health arrives or sending them home, although this carries a risk of being detected and penalized. Overall, a well-managed and efficient hospital with proper facilities and staff is key to minimizing the occurrence and impact of epidemics in Theme Hospital.
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What You'll Learn
- Keep your hospital clean by hiring plenty of janitors and handymen
- Hire high-skilled nurses and doctors to treat patients quickly
- Vaccinate and cure patients before the Minister of Health arrives
- Send patients home if you can't treat them, but make sure they don't walk outdoors
- Reduce crowds by building more rooms and limiting queues to prevent the spread of disease

Keep your hospital clean by hiring plenty of janitors and handymen
Keeping your hospital clean is essential to preventing epidemics and maintaining a positive reputation in Theme Hospital. One effective strategy is to hire plenty of janitors and handymen to ensure that your hospital remains spotless and well-maintained.
Janitors play a crucial role in keeping the hospital clean and hygienic. They are responsible for cleaning up messes, removing rubbish, and disinfecting surfaces. By hiring a large number of janitors, you can ensure that your hospital is consistently clean, reducing the risk of healthcare-acquired infections. In addition to janitors, handymen are also essential for maintaining the functionality and appearance of your hospital. They are responsible for repairing and maintaining machines and equipment, ensuring that they remain in good working condition. Handymen have very low wages, and you can easily afford an "army of them" in the later stages of the game.
To effectively manage your janitors and handymen, consider the following strategies:
- Space out your janitors across the hospital to ensure that all areas are covered.
- Assign specific tasks to janitors, such as cleaning up messes, removing rubbish, or disinfecting surfaces.
- Provide training to your janitors on the importance of hygiene and the proper cleaning techniques to prevent cross-contamination.
- Monitor the work of your janitors and handymen to ensure that it meets the required standards. Consider using innovative technology, such as radio frequency ID (RFID) tags, to enhance monitoring and ensure that spaces are cleaned properly and regularly.
- Be proactive in replacing broken or outdated machines and equipment to reduce the workload on your handymen and prevent machine explosions during earthquakes.
By hiring and effectively managing a large number of janitors and handymen, you can maintain a clean and well-maintained hospital, reducing the risk of epidemics and healthcare-acquired infections. Remember that a clean hospital not only improves patient satisfaction but also contributes to their health and safety during their stay.
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Hire high-skilled nurses and doctors to treat patients quickly
In Theme Hospital, doctors and nurses are essential to treating patients and preventing epidemics. You can hire doctors, nurses, handymen, and receptionists through the Hire Staff Panel. Doctors are the most valuable staff members and vary significantly in their abilities. They are described by three crucial characteristics: seniority, ability, and skills. Seniority is indicated by a slider bar with a stethoscope, bag, or car icon, representing junior, GP, or consultant doctors, respectively. Ability is measured on a scale of 1 to 1000, with consultants being the most skilled and expensive. Doctors with higher abilities make better diagnoses and cure patients faster.
Nurses also vary in their abilities, with higher-skilled nurses making fewer mistakes and working more efficiently. When hiring nurses, aim for those with high attention to detail. Nurses are required in the pharmacy, ward, and fracture clinic, and they play a crucial role in vaccinating patients during epidemics.
To prevent epidemics and treat patients quickly, it is recommended to hire high-skilled doctors and nurses. Prioritize consultants or GPs over juniors, and invest in nurses with strong attention to detail. Additionally, ensure you have enough staff to cover breaks and rest periods to maintain a high level of patient care.
To further enhance the speed and efficiency of your medical staff, consider implementing a system of rewards and incentives for senior doctors. This could include bonuses, special privileges, or additional vacation days. By motivating your staff and providing opportunities for growth, you can create a positive work environment that encourages high performance and contributes to effective patient treatment.
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Vaccinate and cure patients before the Minister of Health arrives
When an epidemic hits, you have two options: declare an epidemic and pay a fine, or attempt to treat the patients and cover up the epidemic. If you choose to declare an epidemic, your patients will be automatically vaccinated, but your hospital will be fined and your reputation will suffer.
To avoid this, you can try to vaccinate and cure patients before the Minister of Health arrives. First, identify the disease and make a note of it. Then, seek out any patients with that ailment and begin treating them as quickly as possible. If they are fully diagnosed, send them for treatment. You can also move them to the front of the queue to ensure they are treated promptly. It is important to act fast, as the Minister of Health will start making their way to your hospital as soon as you hit the "Go home" button on an infected patient's record.
To speed up the treatment process, hire the best nurses and doctors you can afford. Having extra nurses on staff can help you manage epidemics more effectively. Additionally, ensure your hospital is clean and well-maintained, as this can help reduce the chances of an epidemic occurring in the first place.
If you cannot cure all the infected patients before the Minister arrives, you can still attempt to cover up the epidemic. Make sure there are no visible traces of the epidemic inside your hospital. You can even have infected patients walking home within the map boundaries, as long as they don't walk outdoors to get to another area of your hospital.
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Send patients home if you can't treat them, but make sure they don't walk outdoors
If your hospital is hit by an epidemic, it is important to remember what disease is causing it. You should then go around your hospital and either move people with the disease to the front of the queue or send them for treatment. If you don't have the facilities to treat them, you can send them home, but make sure they don't walk outdoors. As soon as you hit the "Go home" button on an infected patient, the health administrator will start making their way to your hospital. You can cover up an epidemic by making sure there are no traces of it inside your hospital. Infected patients can walk home as long as they stay within the map boundaries, and the epidemic will not be detected. However, if they walk outdoors and through another area of your hospital, the Minister of Health will start inspecting.
To prevent this, you should build your hospital with areas linked up so that patients don't have to walk outside. If necessary, build rooms to block the exit door of an area. You can also try to cure the epidemic before the Minister of Health arrives. Have extra nurses on staff, and get them to vaccinate infected patients. You can also use the spray can on sick patients to clear the epidemic.
If you can't treat the patients and they have to be sent home, make sure you do this quickly and before the Minister of Health arrives. You will get a cash bonus and avoid the automatic fail of not having the right facilities. However, if you can, it is better to try and treat the patients, as paying a fine may result in another epidemic being thrown at you soon after.
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Reduce crowds by building more rooms and limiting queues to prevent the spread of disease
One of the best ways to prevent the spread of disease in Theme Hospital is to reduce crowds by building more rooms and limiting queues.
When it comes to building rooms, focus on constructing multiple GP offices, pharmacies, and clinics. This will ensure that patients have easy access to the treatment they need and reduce congestion in waiting areas. It is also a good idea to build a washroom between your main GP offices so that patients don't have to travel far while waiting for their appointments.
In addition to building more rooms, you should also work on limiting queues. Make sure you have enough consultants and staff in your GP offices, pharmacies, and clinics to handle the patient load. This will help to reduce wait times and prevent patients from congregating in crowded waiting areas, lowering the risk of disease transmission.
Another strategy to reduce crowds is to keep your staff well-trained and highly skilled. High-skill nurses, in particular, can significantly improve the speed at which patients are treated, reducing the overall number of patients in your hospital at any given time. It is also important to keep your hospital clean, so consider hiring plenty of janitors to help with this task.
Finally, when an epidemic does occur, act quickly to treat infected patients and, if necessary, send them home. Do not let epidemic patients walk through outdoor areas to get to another part of your hospital, as this will trigger an inspection by the Minister of Health. Instead, try to keep all patients within the map boundaries, even if they are infected, as this will not be detected by the health administrator.
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Frequently asked questions
You can't always prevent an epidemic, but you can take steps to reduce the chances of one occurring. Shoot rats, keep your hospital clean with plenty of janitors, and limit crowding by building more buildings and increasing and decreasing the max queue of your buildings.
If an epidemic hits, remember what the disease is and move people with it to the front of the queue. Don't let any epidemic patients go home. If you can't handle the epidemic, send them all home, but make sure they don't walk through the outdoors to get to another area of your hospital, or the Minister of Health will start inspecting.
Vaccinate and treat the infected patients as quickly as possible. Have extra nurses on staff to help. If you can't cure the epidemic, you can attempt a cover-up by making sure there are no traces of the epidemic inside your hospital.
If you get a notice that an epidemic has been reported, you can pay a fine or reload save slot 8 (auto-save) and seek out any patients with that ailment or disease and begin treating them.









































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