A huge amount of water consumption in hospitals releases a significant volume of wastewaterrnloaded with complex mixtures of chemical and biological substances. The environmental andrnpublic health consequences of the wastewater released in these healthcare setups isimmense unlessrnproper wastewater treatment system is in place. Among the treatment systems, constructedrnwetlands as a reasonable option, have recently received considerable attention to treat a widernvariety of wastewater throughout the world. The aim of this study was to examine the potential ofrnsubsurface flow constructed wetlands to treat hospital wastewater.rnDifferent composite samples were collected from the inlet and outlet of wetlands, transported andrnprocessed for physicochemical, heavy metal and drug analyses as well as enumeration of indicatorrnorganisms, bacteriological identification and susceptibility testing were done following thernstandard procedures. The Fisher's least significant difference (LSD) and Kruskal Wallis H testrnwere used to determine any significant differences in the mean influent and effluent values ofrnparameters, and to compare between planted and unplanted cells in broken brick and gravel bedrnwetlands during the dry and rainy seasons.rnThe inlet wastewater of Hawassa referral hospital contained significant amount of organic mattersrnand nutrients. The average concentration of TSS, BOD5, COD, TKN, NH4rn+rn-N, NO3rn-rn-N andrnPOâ‚„Â³â»were 535+22 mg/L, 221+31.3 mg/L, 713+86.5 mg/L, 86.3+11.7 mg/L, 0.9+0.2 mg/L,rn13.4+4.9 mg/L during the dry season and 496+11.7 mg/L, 185+11.6 mg/L, 673+31.9 mg/L, 98+3rnmg/L, 67.5+4.6 mg/L, 1.1+0.2 mg/L, 8+2 mg/L during the rainy season, respectively. The resultrnof the study indicated that the organic matter, ammonium, and phosphate concentration werernrelatively higher during the dry season while TKN and nitrate were higher during the rainy season.rnHeavy metal analysis of hospital wastewater demonstrated that the average concentration ofrncadmium, chromium, nickel, lead, zinc, silver, arsenic, iron, manganese and copper to bern0.078+0.021, 0.1114+0.04, 0.162+0.082, 0.74+0.05, 0.134+0.009, 0.06+0.008, 0.021+0.007,rn0.8+0.1, 0.21+0.03, and 0.06+0.008 mg/l, respectively. While the average concentration ofrnsulphamethoxazole and diclofenac were 22.9+2.25 and 1.94+0.06 Âµg/L, respectively. Thernconcentration of caffeine, salicylic acid, and ethinyl estradiol was below the detection limit.rnBacteriological analysis of samples from the hospital wastewater illustrated that the averagernbacterial count of total coliforms and fecal coliforms was 1.3 x 107 + 1.2x103 and 1.4 x 105 + 5x102rnxvrnMPN/100 ml, respectively throughout the investigation period. The most frequently isolatedrnbacterial species were Staphylococcus sp 12 (26.6%), E. coli 11 (24.4%), Klebsiella sp 9 (20%),rnShigella sp 5 (11.1%), Salmonella sp 4 (8.9%), and others, such as Pseudomonas sp andrnCitrobacter sp constitutes 4 (8.9%). Among bacterial isolates, 100% of Salmonella species werernfound to be resistant to ampicillin and 75% to doxycycline, erythromycin, ceftazidime, cefoxitin,rnand chloramphenicol. About 81.8% of E.coli isolates were also found to be resistant to ampicillinrnand 72.7% to cotrimoxazole and amoxicillin-clavulanic acid. About 80% of ampicillin resistantrnShigella, as well as 77.8% ampicillin, amoxicillin-clavulanic acid, and ceftazidime-resistantrnKlebsiella, were also frequently found.rnThe average percent removal efficiency of the constructed wetlands against TSS, BOD5, COD,rnTKN, NH4rn+rn-N, NO3-N, and PO4rn-3 were, respectively, 93.2%, 90.4%, 83.7%, 64%, 64.3%, 52.1%rnand 56.1% in the dry season and 89.7%, 85.8%, 82.9%, 66%, 62.7%, 56.1% and 59.5% in thernrainy season. Broken brick bed wetlands gives better removal efficiency of TKN, ammonia, nitrate,rnand phosphate with average removal rate of 73%, 71.3%, 79.6% and 77.1% in the dry season andrn74.7%, 70.7%, 70.9% and 73.6% in the rainy season, respectively. Broken brick beds providernbetter adsorption of ammonium, nitrate, and phosphate. Typha with broken brick bed wasrnsignificantly enhanced (P