The hospital has, I think, 128 "beds." I haven't actually counted them but it really doesn't matter because when they are all full, they just put patients on the floor which means there is no maximum number of patients. When you go into the wards, any charts that have an "X" after the number means "extra". So if it says 3 - 8 X, it's in ward 3 and on the floor beside bed 8. There are separate wards for men, women, pediatrics, isolation (mostly long-term wound care) and TB. There is an entire separate TB village nearby where TB patients go for long-term treatment, but if they get sick with any other problem, they are put into the TB ward. Patients' families provide all meal for the patients and do any bathing / cleaning / "toileting" for the patients. Also, they pay a deposit before they can be admitted and when they are discharged we write the order "DIMP" which means "discharge if money paid". They actually have to lay in the bed until the family comes up with payment. The total cost of their stay is probably only about 30 Ghanain Cedis which is about $21 for us but for them is a fortune. There is actually a national health insurance program and a lot of them have it. I am told it costs about $12 / year but when they leave the hospital, they pay nothing.
A little different from our US health system, huh!
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