achisholm (asker) Mar 21, 2010:

Thanks. .

SYLVY75 Mar 19, 2010:

Hello Oliver, I'm afraid I don't know the exact difference between a Hospital NHS Trust and a plain hospital in the UK, but 'Azienda Ospedaliera' here is just a posh name to refer to the hospital corporation as a whole (inclusive of the admin department, the CUP and the other offices that may not be located in the same building as the hospital itself). In recent years, many Italian hospitals changed their name into 'azienda ospedaliera' to show that they had adopted a more businesslike approach and a different legal structure as compared to the past, but if you get down to the nitty gritty, little has changed in the way they treat their patients (and don't get me started on the situation of the Italian NHS because I may bite). ;)

Oliver Lawrence Mar 19, 2010:

"Azienda" So "Azienda" adds nothing, in contrast to how the English "hospital NHS Trust" is not exactly the same as a plain "hospital"? (just for idle curiosity)

SYLVY75 Mar 19, 2010:

P.S. Azienda Ospedaliera simply means 'hospital'. http://www.proz.com/kudoz/italian_to_english/medical/96643-a...

SYLVY75 Mar 19, 2010:

Hello Alexander, I live in Varese and I can tell you that there are two hospitals here: the "Ospedale di Circolo" and the "Ospedale Filippo del Ponte", but only the Ospedale di Circolo is the reference place for all specialistic medicine, as the Ospedale Del Ponte only has the gynaecology and maternity wards (which are not present in the other hospital).
I hope this is of help. Maybe you should keep the hospital name untranslated, as it refers only to that specific hospital only and could lead to misunderstandings if translated differently.

Note: There are many hospitals 'di circolo' in Northern Italy. They are public hospitals (none is private AFAIK) and each one of them serves as a reference point to the local 'ambulatori' and 'consultori' in case more specialised help is needed.