This paper is based on an ethnographic study conducted in a public hospital in Bangladesh. The study shows how the social dynamics necessary to deal with the structural realities of the hospital give this cosmopolitan institution a local character. In this paper, we describe this local character by focusing on the lower-level hospital staff, such as ward boys, cleaners, and gatemen. Social inequality and exclusion are rampant in Bangladeshi public hospitals. Doctors and nurses are unwilling to communicate with patients and their relatives, while the latter are unable to approach the former for specific help or information. Our research, shows how low-level support workers fill the void between the two “factions” and act as brokers transporting information and activities between these factions. By doing so they do not only make a crucial contribution to the functioning of the ward, but also gain considerable influence in spite of their low position.

中文翻译：

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病房经纪人

本文基于在孟加拉国一家公立医院进行的民族志研究。该研究表明，处理医院结构现实所必需的社会动态如何赋予这个国际化机构以地方特色。在本文中，我们通过关注较低级别的医院工作人员（例如病房男孩、清洁工和门卫）来描述这种本地特征。孟加拉国公立医院的社会不平等和排斥现象猖獗。医生和护士不愿意与患者及其亲属沟通，而后者无法向前者寻求具体帮助或信息。我们的研究表明，低级别的支持人员如何填补两个“派系”之间的空白，并充当在这些派系之间传输信息和活动的中间人。