Sickbay

Sickbay, also known as thedispensary or themedbay, was the main medical center aboardFederationstarships. The section was presided over by thechief medical officer (CMO), asenior staff member. The CMO was supported by variousmedical practitioners. The area was also used for certain analyses of new lifeforms a starship might encounter, and for developing treatments for unknowndiseases or illnesses. When rendering aid to a strickenplanet or spacecraft, the sickbay staff treated and cared for the wounded. Onstarbases, sickbay was typically called theinfirmary.

Features[]

Intensive care unit[]

Three or fourbiobeds generally lined the walls of sickbay's intensive care unit, or ICU; these were for patients receiving medical care and were equipped withbiofunction monitors. OnGalaxy-class starships, private rooms were available for long-term patients. (TNG: "Ethics")

Surgical facilities[]

Sickbays also had surgical beds, where major surgeries were performed, and critical patients were treated. A large, sophisticatedsensor cluster was usually installed directly above this bed. Working in conjunction with amedical tricorder, the sensor suite could give detailed information about a patient's condition. The bed was also designed to use asurgical support frame. This bed was often located in the center of the main sickbay room, althoughConstitution II-class andIntrepid-class starships had separate spaces for their surgical beds, the former in a separate room, the latter in a small area that could be isolated by aforce field. (Star Trek: The Motion Picture;VOY: "Caretaker", "Phage") AboardIntrepid-class starship this surgical facility was namedsurgical bay. (VOY: "In the Flesh") If necessary, surgery could be conducted in the intensive care ward if there was an overflow of patients or if another patient was present to donateblood. (TOS: "Journey to Babel";VOY: "Latent Image")Galaxy-class starships also had separate surgical rooms. (TNG: "Ethics")

Laboratories[]

Sickbays typically had small laboratory facilities attached to the ICU. The chief medical officer or other associated personnel could monitor experiments or run tests here during their duty shift. (TNG: "Evolution", "Clues", "The Game";VOY: "Macrocosm") The laboratory was equipped with a full bioisolation field. (TNG: "Home Soil") Many starships also have separate, larger medlabs.Galaxy-class ships had at least four. (TNG: "Ethics";Star Trek Nemesis)

CMO's office[]

The chief medical officer's office was also located in or near sickbay. As with thecaptain's ready room, it was an area for the CMO to work in privacy or conduct meetings with patients, staff, and others. Its close location allowed the CMO to be present in sickbay almost immediately. The space could be personalized, and the chief medical officer could use plants or paintings for decoration. Dr.Beverly Crusher had a large painting outside her office; it was an abstract representation of humanoid organs against the backdrop of space and several of theUSSEnterprisestarships. She also had a small potted palm tree on the floor beside her desk.

Other features[]

Other treatment facilities available in aGalaxy-class sickbay included physical therapy rooms, (TNG: "Ethics") OB/GYN and nursery areas, (TNG: "The Child", "Data's Day") and an emergency bio support unit. (TNG: "Transfigurations") Astasis unit was also available, used to temporarily place patients in suspended animation for later treatment. (TNG: "Genesis")Constitution-class starships had a decompression chamber, and may have had other features as well. (TOS: "Space Seed", "The Empath", "The Lights of Zetar")

Amorgue facility was also part of sickbay. OnGalaxy-class starships, there was a large separate morgue, (TNG: "Man Of The People", "Suspicions") although autopsies were performed in the main sickbay. (TNG: "Realm Of Fear", "Suspicions") TheIntrepid-class had a tiny area for storage of the deceased just off the medical lab as well as a separate morgue area. (VOY: "Basics, Part II", "Emanations", "Renaissance Man")

Supplies[]

Sickbays were well stocked with a variety ofmedical equipment and supplies. Much of it was left out on tables or benches for use by the medical crew, but some items were stored in cargo crates. (TNG: "Haven", "Starship Mine";VOY: "Message in a Bottle") On24th century starships, if a piece of equipment was needed but not available it could be replicated. A standard foodreplicator was also found in sickbay, (TNG: "Evolution", "Future Imperfect") although the quality of the food did not appear to have improved much since the twentieth century. (TNG: "Ethics")

Security[]

Due to its critical importance, the primary sickbay was usually located deep within thesaucer section of mostFederationstarships. Sickbays were well-protected, and generally had aphaser locker for defense of the facility in the event the ship was boarded. (TNG: "Starship Mine", "Timescape") However, onConstitution-class vessels, at least one sickbay was located near the exterior of the saucer section, and had a window. (ST: "Ephraim and Dot")

Psychology[]

Sickbays could provide limited psychological services to a starship's crew. In the23rd century, the ship's doctor often doubled as an informal counselor. (TOS: "The Cage") By the 24th century,counselors became a normal part of starship crews. Although not formally part of the medical staff, the counselor played an important role in the well-being of the crew. (TNG: "Relics") Counselors were not always assigned to starships, especially smaller vessels with limited missions. While theUSSVoyager was stranded in theDelta Quadrant, the ship'sEmergency Medical Hologram andmorale officerNeelix informally filled the counselor roles. (Star Trek: Voyager)

Emergency situations[]

Triage[]

In the event of a large-scale disaster or humanitarian crisis that was encountered by a starship,cargo bays andshuttlebays could be used as triage centers and even morgues if necessary. Generally, this was only feasible on larger ships with a sizable medical staff. OnGalaxy-class ships, a chief medical officer could order all Starfleet crewmembers and civilians with medical training to assist during a major crisis. (TNG: "Night Terrors", "Ethics")Galaxy-class starships also carried large quantities of backup medical supplies in the event of disaster. (TNG: "Preemptive Strike")

Designated environmental shelters could also be converted for medical use, such asTen Forward on theGalaxy-class. (TNG: "Night Terrors", "Disaster") On theIntrepid-class USSVoyager, themess hall often served as a backup to sickbay. (VOY: "Macrocosm", "Before and After", "Year of Hell", "Memorial")

The Emergency Medical Hologram[]

TheEmergency Medical Holographic program was an asset to medical personnel introduced in2370. It could be activated in the event of a major emergency or loss of the medical staff. Although its value was indisputable, many Starfleet doctors, including Beverly Crusher, were not fond of the program, and it was rewritten several times. (Star Trek: First Contact;DS9: "Doctor Bashir, I Presume";VOY: "Life Line") One noteworthy EMH was The Doctor of the USSVoyager. He was activated shortly after the ship's disappearance in2371, and served as their chief medical officer for nearly seven years, growing into a sentient being in the process. (VOY: "Caretaker", "Endgame")

Differences among starship classes[]

NX-class[]

TheNX-class had a single sickbay ward onE Deck. The facility was open-plan, with laboratory equipment in the main sickbay area. The room also contained a main operating table, as well as several side beds for recovery of patients and animaging chamber. To either side of the imaging chamber wereautoclaves. The room was easily capable of caring for non-humanoid patients. AboardEnterprise NX-01, Dr.Phlox often kept various different species of animals in sickbay, which he sometimes used in the treatment of injuries in lieu of more traditional treatments. One such animal was anosmotic eel. (ENT: "These Are The Voyages...", "Fight or Flight", "A Night In Sickbay", "Broken Bow")

The sickbay aboardEnterprise also featured twosinks in two alcoves next to thedoor. By using aladder, amaintenance shaft could be reached. (ENT: "Regeneration")

Kelvin-type[]

TheKelvin-type sickbay was a brightly white-lit room, furnished with at least one biobed. Next to the bed were a couple of free-standing consoles and two overhead monitors.

Crossfield-class[]

TheCrossfield-class sickbay featured two biobeds on each side of the room, with a third in the center. Above each biobed was an imaging chamber. (DIS: "The Butcher's Knife Cares Not for the Lamb's Cry")

Constitution-class[]

In the2250s,Constitution-class starships had a contained a sickbay that took up two decks. They even contained anemergency medical transporter to allow for more efficientbeaming ofpatients directly to sickbay. (SNW: "Ghosts of Illyria")

By the2260s, sickbay was located on Deck 5, and was considered the best protected part of the ship. (TOS: "Mirror, Mirror", "Amok Time", "Elaan of Troyius") It was maintained and operated by the astro-medicine department. There were at least four wards. (TOS: "The Naked Time") They featured multiplebody function panels. (Star Trek: The Original Series) One of the wards was an isolation ward. (TOS: "Turnabout Intruder") It was completely redesigned during the refit of theUSSEnterprise, much to the chagrin of Dr.McCoy. (Star Trek: The Motion Picture;Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country)

By2293, the sickbay onConstitution II-class starships was redesigned yet again. (Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country)

Alternate reality[]

In thealternate realityUSSEnterprise, the facility was known as "med bay" and was located within the saucer section of the ship. (Star Trek)

Excelsior-class[]

The sickbay on arefitExcelsior-class starship can handle up to forty-sevenpatients at one time, though it would be crowded.

TheUSSEnterprise-B rescued and treated forty-sevenEl-Aurian survivors in2293, albeit without theCMO or their staff. (Star Trek Generations)

Galaxy-class[]

Galaxy-class ships had at least three sickbay wards. (TNG: "Tapestry") Two sickbay wards were located on Deck 12 of thesaucer module, with the primary facility on the starboard side of the ship and a backup on the port. (TNG: "A Matter of Perspective") Another sickbay was in thestardrive section in case the vessel needed to separate. (TNG: "The Arsenal of Freedom";Star Trek Generations)Galaxy-class ships had one of the largest medical care facilities in the fleet, taking up the majority of Deck 12.

In analternate timeline, CaptainRachel Garrett marveled at the size and advancement of theEnterprise-D sickbay, stating that she had "never seen anything like it before, even on a starbase." (TNG: "Yesterday's Enterprise", "Remember Me")Galaxy-class ships normally had several doctors on board and at least four medical personnel on duty at all times. (TNG: "Remember Me", "Genesis")

Intrepid-class[]

OnIntrepid-class ships, sickbay was located on Deck 5. (VOY: "Tuvix", "Flashback") The entire medical staff consisted of a doctor and a nurse.Intrepid-class starships were also supplemented by the then newEmergency Medical Holographic program orEMH. (VOY: "Caretaker") Sickbays on theIntrepid-class were unable to handle heavy patient loads, much to the frustration ofVoyager's EMH, who requested a larger facility at some point duringVoyager's journey through theDelta Quadrant. (VOY: "Deadlock", "Waking Moments")

Entryway

The chief medical officer's office

The area with biobeds

Surgical area

The lab in the back area

The view from inside the lab

Defiant-class[]

OnDefiant-class ships, sickbay was on Deck 2. (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Technical Manual) Sickbays were spartan, usually staffed with a single physician or medic. The room was equipped with limited surgical facilities and was primarily intended to stabilize patients until they could be delivered to a nearby friendly starbase medical facility. (DS9: "Waltz", "Valiant")

Sovereign-class[]

Aboard theSovereign-class, sickbay wards could be found on Decks 8 and 16 (the latter of which was a smaller facility resembling the sickbay of anIntrepid-class ship).Sovereign-class sickbays were equipped with anEMH. (Star Trek: First Contact;Star Trek Nemesis)

Prometheus-class[]

Sickbays on thePrometheus-class were somewhat small, each containing a single surgical biobed and a spartan research area. However, the sickbays were stocked with the latest in medical technologies and were the first to test theEMH Mark II. (VOY: "Message in a Bottle")

Lamarr-class[]

In2384, the sickbay's location in theUSSVoyager-A was labeled in the ship'smaster systems display. (PRO: "Into the Breach, Part I")

Appendices[]

Background information[]

In the script of "Where No Man Has Gone Before", sickbay is described as "the small 'Hospital', the pleasant and comfortably furnished room – not the usual Spartanish hospital type." The script goes on to describe the room's furnishings.

The sickbay set seen inStar Trek: The Motion Picture was originally built for the abortedStar Trek: Phase II television series. It was reused forStar Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and also became the seedy bar visited by Dr. McCoy inStar Trek III: The Search for Spock.^[1]

The set was later revamped to serve as theUSSEnterprise-D sickbay forStar Trek: The Next Generation. The sickbay set also doubled as theobservation lounge set, during thefirst season of TNG. Its windows were covered with carpet when the set was used to represent sickbay. (Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion, 3rd ed., p. 10) Outlines of where the windows were can be seen in sickbay scenes. There was a small medlab attached to this set, beyond the doors next to Dr. Crusher's office. It was crammed behind thetransporter room and a difficult set to shoot, and ultimately only appeared three times: once as the Bio Lab in "Home Soil", again as Wesley's laboratory at the beginning of thethird season, and in its final appearance as thetactical laboratory in "The Mind's Eye". This led to the creation of a new, separate multipurpose laboratory which appeared towards the end of the same season. Items and the layout in sickbay changed gradually as the series went on, including the removal of a brown-tinted window in front of the main bio-bed shown in "The Naked Now".^{(citation needed •edit)}

It also appeared as theUSSEnterprise-A sickbay inStar Trek V: The Final Frontier andStar Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, in this same basic configuration. 24th century control panels and technology could be seen on the set inStar Trek V, but forStar Trek VI, the set was better redressed to hide the TNG-era elements.

The set was further retooled to becomeVoyager's sickbay forStar Trek: Voyager and theUSSEnterprise-E sickbay in bothStar Trek: First Contact andStar Trek: Insurrection. Elements from this incarnation of the set were incorporated in theUSSPrometheus in "Message in a Bottle". The set was torn down afterVoyager wrapped in2001.^{(citation needed •edit)}

A new set was built for theEnterprise-E inStar Trek Nemesis, although it used the biobeds from TNG (which were originally fromThe Motion Picture).^{(citation needed •edit)}

For theUSSDefiant, the mess hall set was redressed to become sickbay. (AOL chat,1997)

A great number of items found in theEnterprise's (NX-01) sickbay were sold in theIt's A Wrap! sale and auction.[3]^(X)[4]^(X)[5]^(X)[6]^(X)[7]^(X)[8]^(X)[9]^(X)[10]^(X)