Internal medicine

Three out of ten wards that were located in Pikonlinna belonged to the department of internal medicine. At first the internal medicine wards were general internal medicine wards, which gradually specialized. One of them was a diabetes ward (in the B Wing), the second one was a gastroenterology ward (in the A Wing) and the third a general internal medicine ward. Internal diseases are a field of medicine which diagnoses and treats a large number of adult diseases without using surgery. Internal diseases are divided into endocrinology, gastroenterology, hematology, infectious diseases, cardiology, nephrology, rheumatology, general internal diseases and geriatrics. The senior ward physicians in the Ward 24A were dr. Tuula Laasanen and dr. Pekka Collin. The Ward 24A was a gastroenterology ward. The head nurses of the Ward 24B were ms. Eeva Matikka and ms. Marja-Liisa Toivonen. The senior ward physicians in the ward were dr. Timo Pitkäjärvi and dr. Heikki Oksala. The Ward 24B was a diabetes ward.

In the course of time changes have taken place in treatment methods, such as shortened hospital stays. The changes in the treatment methods in all fields of internal medicine led to a major decline in the need for hospital beds and concurrently a larger emphasis is placed on outpatient services. As years went by the shift from inpatient to outpatient care resulted in the merging or closing of wards.