In Port Elizabeth the Livingstone Hospital is the Provincial Hospital that provides major medical service to the neighboring towns.  According to the UCCSA map, we'd say it covers the whole of the Algoa Region, the Karoo Region and a part of the Outeniqua Region

Patients come to Livingstone for their monthly treatments, some are emergency cases that need to undergo operations, tests, X-rays, etc., and others are trauma cases.  Ambulances bring the patients to hospital and take them back again. 

Most of the times these patients are forced to spend a day or even a week at the hospital, even if they are ready to go back home, because the ambulances leave at 14h00 and most of the times some are not attended to by then, the dispensary closes at 16h00 and sometimes they do not manage to get their medication in time, in some cases, they have to wait until the transport goes in their direction.  In the past, these patients had to spend nights on the floor or on the benches at the hospital, with no provision for food, accommodation and the basic needs.  Fear was also a main factor, because they don't know the place and we know that crime and violence is everywhere!

For the past year, the Women's Committee of the Algoa Region provides these "Country Patients" with accommodation and meals of a very high standard!  The Board for the Aged in Port Elizabeth made available nine rooms at the Stuurman Old-age Home that happens to be across the street from the hospital. The Women's Committees furnished the rooms, Rev. Bott made the eighteen beds - we only had to provide the material! And our Lord and Provider makes it a point that everything needed to see to these patients, is provided!   We follow a roster that is drawn up by the Committee at the end of the year - Each local church in Port Elizabeth gets a month to be on duty, while the churches outside Port Elizabeth, and provide the food and toiletries.  

Our duties entail, to fetch the patients at night, give them something to eat, put them in a clean bed, make sure the bathroom facilities are in order, share some time in prayer with them, make sure they are comfortable, see that they have their breakfast at 6h00 in the morning and take them back to the hospital, change the bedding and tidy the rooms as well our "Workstation"!

Since we started last year in April, we provided 1 723 patients with accommodation - people from Grahamstown, Port Alfred, Alexandria, Humansdorp, Hankey, Jeffreys Bay, Patensie, Cradock, Graaff Reinet, Steynsburg, Somerset East, Kirkwood, Pearston, Steytlerville, Langkloof, Uniondale and many more!  When we go through our books, we find that we render services to all races.  We believe that nothing on earth will ever replace the gladness we experience when we see the appreciation from people we never met before!  We thank God for granting us the opportunity to serve Him in such a special way!