The Different Type Of Hospitals Found In Nigeria

The majority of Nigerians visit any nearby medical centre when they are not feeling too well. They do not consider the quality of service that is rendered in these centres.

The only thing they consider is if the centre has medical personnel. The other sets consider the cost of service and not on the quality of services render in these centres.

The number medical centres in Nigeria are into hundreds. They are all classified either based on the management or the services they render. Classifying medical centres based on management, we have private hospitals and government hospitals. On the other hand, classification based on services, we have:

• Acute Care Facilities

These hospitals provide services on a temporary basis. They are:

1. Health centres
2. Unit hospitals (clinic)
3. General hospitals
4. Central hospital
5. Teaching hospital
6. Federal Medical Centre (F.M.C)

• Chronic Care Facilities

These hospitals provide advanced and sometimes long term services to patients. They are called:

1. Specialty Centre

These sets of hospitals can be run and managed by either privates or government. One thing to note is that the majority of hospitals in Nigeria are owned and managed by the government. For the avoidance of doubts, this post will concentrate on government owned hospitals.

A hospital is an instrument providing patient treatment with specialised medical and nursing equipment.

Acute Care Facilities

Health Care Centres

They are the most common health care facilities in Nigeria. They are found in both villages, community and cities. However, their services are gradually declining in the cities as more and bigger hospitals are springing up in these locations every now and then. They are still very popular in the villages as their services has really helped a lot of villages that do not have access to big hospitals like in the cities.

They are usually small in terms of structure. It may be a single flat with some few rooms as office and diagnosis room. Medical equipment here is usually those for diagnosing minor ailments such as a sphygmomanometer, stethoscope, thermometer, etc.

Their major service is immunisation (vaccination). However, due to the distance from most villages to bigger hospitals in the cities, these health centres now carry out antenatal care with baby delivery.

Staffs are made up of nurses, mid wives, Community Health Extension workers (C.H.E.W), health care assistants. A chief nurse may head this little establishment.

Unit Hospitals (Clinic)

Units’ hospital is next in line. Common in some selected villages that their population is now putting a strain on the services rendered by health care centres. Another place where they can be found is in university for students. They are bigger than health care centres based on structure. It may occupy a whole compound.

They have a couple of equipment, which makes them more advanced than health care centres. They can treat minor ailments including simple burns, wounds etc. They may have a room or two with a bed to admit and treat a patient for some days. However, the majority of their cases are outpatient.

Staffs are made up of a doctor (who likely is not a specialist), a couple of nurses, mid wives and health care assistants. However, the doctors can be up to two in some locations.

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A good example of a clinic is Medical Reception Center (M.R.S) in army barracks. They offer medicals services to the Nigeria army as they are scattered throughout army barracks. The majority of their staffs are in the Nigeria army.

General Hospitals

Hospital

This hospital is very common in towns and cities. It is a big establishment in terms of structure. It can occupy a single big building or a couple of blocks. They can treat any kind of illness or injury. For those that are more than what they can handle, they refer.

They have more equipment for carrying out operations, emergency conditions with wards for inpatients and outpatient care. They have so many units such as pharmacy unit, medical laboratory etc. Most general hospitals have between 50 – 100 beds for in-patients. They may have an ambulance for rescue operation.

Staffs include physicians, doctors, specialist, pharmacist(s), nurses, medical laboratory scientist etc.

Central Hospital

Most central hospitals grew from once a general hospital. They have bigger structures with more specialist. The units are more advanced in the sense that where a general hospital may boast of a single room for its pharmacy with a pharmacist, a central hospital can have up to five units for its pharmacy unit with an experienced pharmacist in them.

They offer service just like a general hospital but in more advanced level with advanced intensive care. They may be found in same town or city where a central hospital is located.

Staffs are similar with that of a general hospital but are mainly the specialist in their various fields.

Central hospitals may be affiliated with medical schools, nursing schools, or allied health professions training program. Although, most teaching hospitals in Nigeria were built from scratch with the intention to affiliate it since maybe the hospital and the university are owned by the government.

Teaching Hospitals

These sites are the primary training centres for new physicians where pharmacy interns and residents work under the supervision of experienced physicians or pharmacist. They run services like that of a central hospital but with higher care given.

Staffs are all specialist in every field including a bunch of experience. The most pharmacist there are Pharm D. holders with years of experience.

They host much expensive equipment used in diagnosis and treatment including many hospital beds as they render some advanced form of care. Some in Nigeria have a landing spot for aeroplane ambulance including their normal car ambulance. A good example is Delta State University Teaching Hospital, Oghara (D.E.L.S.U.T.H).

Many of the physicians hold a teaching position at the university affiliated with the hospital.

Because of so many students in this hospital, it is very common for medical students and residents to attend to patients. This can be a turn off for many patients who may feel too many people know about their sickness and conditions, which is to some extent like invading patients’ privacy rights. Many patients are scared to tell them off because they feel they will be offending the doctor in charge.

Hospital

FMC

The only Federal owned hospitals that are scattered across the country. They operate services similar to what central hospital do. Many of them are located in state capitals.

Read Also: Hospital Units Found In Most Nigerian Hospital

Chronic Care Facilities

Specialist Centres

There are hospitals that can treat just one condition. They are referred to as specialist hospital because they know about such conditions very well as many specialists in that field work there. Take, for example, hospital for the eye may have a specialist in different conditions that affect the eye. There will be some specialists that know how to treat glaucoma, others cataract, and still others myopia and other conditions.

Other Specialist Hospitals Include

Maternity/Paediatric Hospital

Just for women, pregnant women, and nursing mothers. Some have added family planning to the list of their services

Prison Hospitals

As the name sounds these hospitals are found in the hospital for treating prison inmate. Since it is for treating prisoners, we do not expect it to have standard because this is Nigeria.

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