15 Theme Hospital Facts, Quotes, Gameplay tips and Walkthrough

“Theme Hospital” is a hospital simulation game developed by Bullfrog Productions and published by Electronic Arts in 1997 for PC. The game tasks players with designing and operating a hospital with the goal of curing patients suffering from comical ailments.

As the player, you have to not only build and arrange various diagnosis and treatment facilities in the hospital, but also hire and manage doctors, nurses, handymen, and receptionists. The game requires you to ensure the smooth running of the hospital, which can involve managing staff wages, keeping patients happy, and dealing with various challenges like emergencies and epidemics.

Theme Hospital Facts

“Theme Hospital” was developed by Bullfrog Productions and published by Electronic Arts.
It was released for PC in 1997, and later ported to other platforms such as PlayStation.
“Theme Hospital” is a business simulation game, requiring players to design and operate their own hospital.
The game is known for its humorous and satirical take on hospital management.
Diseases in the game are fictional and comedic, like ‘Bloaty Head’ and ‘King Complex’.
The goal in each level is to meet certain criteria, such as achieving a specific bank balance, treating a certain number of patients, and maintaining a good hospital reputation.
Players have to manage various aspects of the hospital, including hiring and firing staff, managing finances, and ensuring patient satisfaction.
The game features a variety of rooms that players can build, from diagnosis and treatment rooms to staff rooms and toilets.
The staff in the game have different skill levels and salaries, and they can get tired, requiring rest in a staff room.
Emergencies can occur in the game, where a group of patients with the same disease arrive and must be treated within a certain time limit.
Epidemics can also occur, where a contagious disease spreads throughout the hospital. Players must try to contain the epidemic before a health inspector arrives.
The game features a ‘research’ mechanic, where players can dedicate resources to discovering new treatment options and equipment.
Players can adjust the price of treatments, which can affect the hospital’s income and the patients’ satisfaction.
The game has a ‘rat shooting’ mode, where players can click on rats that appear in the hospital to earn a cash bonus.
“Theme Hospital” has a spiritual successor called “Two Point Hospital”, released in 2018 by Two Point Studios, which was founded by former Bullfrog employees.

Theme Hospital Gameplay Tips

Plan Your Layout: Ensure there’s a good flow to your hospital. Having diagnosis rooms near the entrance and treatment rooms further inside can prevent patients from needing to backtrack. Ensure corridors are wide enough to prevent congestion.
Balance Your Staff: Hire a balanced team of doctors, nurses, handymen, and receptionists. Too few staff can slow down operations, while too many can drain your finances.
Invest in Research: Research is key in “Theme Hospital”. It not only allows you to discover new treatment facilities but also helps in improving existing ones and unlocking handy items like radiators and plants.
Train Your Staff: Training your doctors can make them more efficient and provide better healthcare services.
Manage Your Finances: Be mindful of your budget. Don’t overspend on fancy equipment or overstaffing in the early game. Ensure you’re charging a reasonable amount for treatments.
Deal with Emergencies: Emergencies can be a good way to earn quick cash, but only if you’re prepared. Keep an emergency-ready staff and make sure you have the necessary treatment facilities.
Keep Your Hospital Clean: Hire enough handymen to keep your hospital clean and maintain your machines. This will keep your hospital’s reputation high and prevent machines from exploding, which can be very expensive.
Heat Management: Patients and staff will be unhappy if they’re too hot or too cold. Placing radiators and adjusting the heat level in the hospital is a key part of keeping everyone happy.
Manage Queues: Long queues can lead to unhappy patients. If a queue is too long, consider building another room of the same type, or improving the room to diagnose and treat patients faster.
Pay Attention to Epidemics: When an epidemic hits, it’s usually more cost-effective to try to cure it before the health inspector arrives, rather than pay the fine.
Use the Right Staff for the Job: Doctors with surgery or psychiatry skills are needed for those specific rooms. Make sure you have a few general practice doctors as well to handle diagnoses.

Theme Hospital quotes

“Doctor required in GP’s office!” – One of the most common announcements, often heard when a doctor has left a general practice office unattended.
“Patients are asked not to die in the corridors!” – A humorously grim reminder of the stakes at play, often announced when your hospital is struggling to keep up with the influx of patients.
“Warning: A small furry creature has been spotted in the hospital.” – This quote is a warning that a rat infestation has begun and the player needs to take care of it.
“Doctor, attending Psychiatry, please.” – A regular announcement when a patient needs psychiatric help.
“We have a VIP in the building.” – This announcement is made when a VIP visits your hospital.
“Nurse required in pharmacy.” – This is heard when there is no nurse to handle the patients in the pharmacy.
“Two Surgeons required in operating theatre.” – A reminder that some medical procedures require more than one trained staff member.
“Staff announcement, incoming patients with bloaty head.” – This announcement is made when there’s an influx of patients suffering from a specific ailment, in this case, bloaty head.
“Hospital administrator is cheating!” – This amusing message is heard when you use cheat codes.
“Warning: Epidemic alert!” – This urgent message informs you of an outbreak of a contagious disease.

Theme Hospital quotes game controls

Mouse Movement: Navigate around the screen.
Left Mouse Button: Select/Place objects and interact with menus.
Right Mouse Button: Cancel selection/De-select objects.
Mouse Wheel: Zoom in and out (only if supported by your version of the game).

For the game’s menu:

F1: Access help.
F2: Save the game.
F3: Load a game.
F4: Toggle sound on/off.
F5: Access charts menu.
F10: Access options menu.
F11: Restart level.
F12: Quit game.

As for in-game play:

+/-: Increase/Decrease game speed.
[ and ]: Rotate the screen.
Return (Enter): Take a screenshot (saved in the game’s directory).
Shift + C: Access cheat menu (only available in some versions of the game).

Theme Hospital Cheats (cheat codes)

7287: In the fax machine menu, typing this will start or end an epidemic.
24328: Also in the fax machine menu, this code will make all patients become sick and vomit, which can result in a fine if not cleaned up quickly.
Shift + C: On the main map, this combination will enable cheat mode. After entering cheat mode, you can then type the following codes for various effects:
- “risky”: Money cheats. Each use adds $5000 to your total.
- “nuclear”: Bombs and destroys your hospital.
- “guess”: Opens up all diagnosis procedures to patients, regardless of how many diagnosis rooms you have.
- “fax”: Allows you to receive faxes (for example, requests for emergencies, VIP visits or epidemics).
- “show me the money”: Gives you $10,000,000.
- “10000”: Gives you $10,000.
- “fast run”: Makes the game run at maximum speed.
- “create people”: Adds 10 patients to your hospital.
- “doctor”: Creates a doctor.
- “nurse”: Creates a nurse.
- “receptionist”: Creates a receptionist.
- “handyman”: Creates a handyman.
F11: Pressing F11, then typing “doctor”, “nurse”, “receptionist”, or “handyman” will create a top-tier staff member of that type.
F12: Pressing F12, then typing “speed up” will increase the game speed.