Evangel Hospital
Adults and older adolescents stay on the male, female, and private wards. The male and
female wards each consist of one open room with 10-12 beds on bare cement floors, and a
hallway with private or semi-private beds. Visiting seems quite casual, with family
members and friends sitting on the floor or bed (there are never enough chairs), or on the
walkway outside. There is no food service in the hospital, so families either cook outside
on fires or buy food from vendors just outside the hospital.
The nurses and attendants looking after the patients are all Nigerian, as are most of the doctors. The team of
physicians for each service typically consists of a "house-officer" (intern,
fresh from medical school), a junior or senior general practice registrar (i.e., a family
practice resident) and a "consultant" (attending physician).
In contrast with a hospital in the developed world, there is very little in the way of
equipment or technology on these wards. A few patients have IV fluids running from bags
supported on poles. Sometimes an oxygen tank or suction unit is in use. And oh yes, there are
lights and a refrigerator.