Sickbay was the main medical center aboard Federation starships. Sickbay was presided over by the chief medical officer (CMO), a senior staff member. The CMO was supported by various doctors and nurses. The area was also used for certain analyses of new lifeforms a starship might encounter, and for developing treatments for unknown diseases or illnesses. When rendering aid to a stricken planet or spacecraft, the sickbay staff treated and cared for the wounded. On starbases, sickbay was typically called the infirmary.

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Intensive Care Unit

Three or four biobeds generally lined the walls of sickbay's intensive care unit, or ICU; these were for patients receiving medical care and were equipped with biofunction monitors. On Nebula-class starships, private rooms were available for long-term patients.

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Surgical facilities

Sickbays also had surgical beds, where major surgeries were performed and critical patients were treated. A large, sophisticated sensor cluster was usually installed directly above this bed.

Working in conjunction with a medical tricorder, the sensor suite could give detailed information about a patient's condition. The bed was also designed to use a surgical support frame. This bed was often located in the center of the main sickbay room, although refit Constitution-class and Intrepid-class starships had separate spaces for their surgical beds, the former in a separate room, the latter in a small area that can be isolated by a force field.

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 donate blood. Nebula-class starships also had separate surgical rooms.

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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.The laboratory was equipped with a full bioisolation field.

Many starships also have separate, larger medlabs. Nebula-class ships had at least four.

The sickbay laboratory was directly connected to the sickbay set by a glass door in the waiting area of Dr. Crusher's office. It was redressed several times, and also served as the tactical laboratory.

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Other Features

Other treatment facilities available in a Galaxy-class sickbay included physical therapy rooms , OB/GYN and nursery areas, and an emergency bio support unit. A stasis unit was also available, used to temporarily place patients in suspended animation for later treatment.

Constitution-class starships had a decompression chamber, and may have had other features as well.

A morgue facility was also part of sickbay. On Nebula-class starships, there was a large separate morgue, although autopsies were performed in the main sickbay.

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Supplies

Sickbays were well stocked with a variety of medical 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.

On 24th century starships, if a piece of equipment was needed but not available it could be replicated. A standard food replicator was also found in sickbay, although the quality of the food did not appear to have improved much since the twentieth century.

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Security

Due to its critical importance, the primary sickbay was usually located deep within the saucer section of most Federation starships. Sickbays were well-protected, and generally had a phaser locker for defense of the facility in the event the ship was boarded.

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Psychology

Sickbays could provide limited psychological services to a starship's crew. In the 23rd century, the ship's doctor often doubled as an informal counselor.

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.

Counselors were not always assigned to starships, especially smaller vessels with limited missions.

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Triage

When a large scale disaster was encountered by a starship, cargo bays and shuttlebays could be used as triage centers and even morgues if necessary. Generally, this was only feasible on larger ships with a sizable medical staff. On Nebula-class ships, a chief medical officer could order all Starfleet crewmembers and civilians with medical training to assist during a major crisis.

Nebula-class starships also carried large quantities of backup medical supplies in the event of disaster.
Designated environmental shelters could also be converted for medical use, such as Ten Forward on the Galaxy-class.

The chief medical officer's office was also located in or near sickbay. As with the captain'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.