Dr. Thistle and family have returned home... To Karanda Mission Hospital

KARANDA MISSION HOSPITAL

The FSAOF will conclude our series on the HH/Thistle tragedy in 3 days. Dr. Paul Thistle and his family have returned to Zimbabwe and the Karanda Mission Hospital where he’s already donned his surgical gown, mask and gloves.

The below are but a portion of the comments posted on the SA Canada’s site almost a year ago. Sadly, there has been no update by the SA at any level. Consequently, there is reason for encouragement, joy or immediate hope.

We'll be creating a Prayer Wall of support on FaceBook today.

We report - you decide

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SalvationArmy.ca August 23, 2012 at 1:43 pm

Our International Headquarters confirms that Howard Hospital is operating with two doctors plus other medical staff. A plan is in place for the future of the hospital and while this facility is International in nature, we remain committed to supporting its work. In fact, a container with medical supplies valued at more than $300,000 is already en route to Zimbabwe.

Some responses to the article: ‘SA in Canada remains committed to Howard Hospital’

Posted on August 23, 2012 in Newswire

 September 5, 2012

Having trained in Zimbabwe with Dr. Thistle as my preceptor I can assure you that nobody is nearly as competent or hard working as he is. He is a man with an undeniable passion for medicine and cares for people like no other. Taking him away from Howard is a crime. I think we can all agree that there is corruption within the ranks of SA Zim. I think we can go further to say that this corruption influenced IHQ. And finally, I think we can all agree that SA Canada is aware of what is going on but too afraid to admit it and bring this SA scandal into the spotlight.…

              

Tina and David Ivany

  

This is an absolute disgrace. Paul and Pedrinah, our cousins, have done all the work to keep this hospital running under the direst circumstances. Only now, after their “re-assignment” – a lovely sanitized word-play to disguise the real situation, does the Army IHQ suggest investigating the corruption on site. Only now, after years of underfunding, does it talk about “enhanced future investment in the hospital” – words that Dr. Thistle and his team have waited years to hear. Paul does not need to be re-acclimatized to Canada. Unfortunately, there is only one Dr. Paul Thistle and his heart is with his patients in Zimbabwe. Let him go, and you will never see the likes of him again.

              

Elizabeth Argent

Once again, shame on the Army! This morning in our church bulletin is yet another piece of propaganda under the guise of a press release ensuring members of the SA that all is well and good and going according to plan with HH and Dr. Thistle. This could not be farther from the truth. They continue to assert that it’s business as usual at HH. This is nothing short off a lie. The $300 thousand shipment is no longer going over as they claim. Which, by the way is not a SA donation of medicines and supplies but a donation made by doctors from the Trillium hospital-the SA is only responsible for the $15 thousand shipping costs- that shipment has now understandably been pulled.               

Gay Pratt

 This is too little to late. Where was the IHQ and THQ when all this was happening. How could the IHQ allow HQ in Zimbabwe to put Capt(Dr.) P Thistle through what they have. IHQ must have known about the corruption and money missing or arriving too late. As for the Howard Hospital functioning without Dr. Thistle, Do you not listen to the news??? I have been to Howard Hospital, because of the SA lack of backbone, people are dying, and suffering, Nurses have been arrested, hospital equipment stolen. All because of certain Zim SA personnel who have a personal vendetta against Paul. Even the Government of Zimbabwe has wanted Paul to remain at Howard. Amazing that our own SA took so long to get involved. Here is a man who has given the SA the best PR they could have, He has been honored by his peers he is a humble and dedicated physician and officer and where is the SA support for him when he needed it. It is outside the SA that Paul received help I am embarrassed to be SA…                  

Jennifer Reid

When I first went to Howard Hospital in 2001 I was struck by how old and dilapidated its buildings are, windows with no screens let alone glass, peeling paint, out-dated equipment, empty supply shelves. People line up for care, and then again for medication (which often runs out), and family members sleep on the floors beside patients’’ beds. And yet, those ramshackle buildings were filled with life and hope and service. On day two of my visit, I was shown “the new Howard Hospital”, a fine expansive building, with fresh walls and wiring and plumbing for updated medical facility. I was told that a Salvation Army donor had left millions of dollars to build this new hospital that the people so desperately need. So what happened to this new Howard Hospital?

Somehow, those millions of dollars given to the SA “ran out.” The buildings are there, but are as empty as a ghost town, right beside the old hospital which pulses with life. They’re now becoming dilapidated from non-use and neglect, and the Zimbabwean authorities declared it unfit for use in 2006, but you’ll not find a single word about this in any SA press statement. Such massive waste and mismanagement of donor dollars.

I was teaching clinical midwifery at Howard in 2001 and we were asking Canadians to donate $4 so that we could administer AIDS drugs to women in labour to prevent spread of HIV to their babies. We knew the women were going to die because there were no AIDS medications available then, but the babies were more likely to be adopted by other families if they were HIV-negative. The people see the new hospital, empty, and reports from people in Zimbabwe are saying that service provision in the old hospital is a shell of its former self since the Thistles left. And people there seem to be talking about corruption in the handling of funds, and how unfair it is to them that the Thistles have been forced out. Lives are at stake. Is it really okay with all of us that the same people who allowed the “slippage” of the new hospital funds to do this investigation? Doesn’t SA need outside assistance to get to the bottom of it? And if it’s not a personal vendetta against the Thistles, why do they have to leave while the investigation is occurring? Lives are at stake and the right actions need to be taken.

Brian Nichols

The word I have had today from inside Howard Hospital is that only one doctor remains, there are only 2 patients in the hospital and no medicine in the pharmacy. This is a hospital that normally averages more than 300 patients per day. Where is the truth? I have been told that $18,000. worth of building supplies that were purchased with money raised in our Peterborough community have been looted. We know by whom. People are dying unnecessarily. Wake up to what is happening here and stop sending out false information.

John Sullivan

My parents were missionary-officers in Africa. I was born there, am a former officer, and for the past fifty years have been a minister in the United Church of Canada. I have been the senior minister of some of the largest congregations in the denomination, and at eighty, I am still active, serving a rural charge. I have become aware that a large contribution to Howard has been made by one of our United Churches and handed directly to the administrator at Howard. The church is requesting that the money be returned until the issue of Dr. Thistle is resolved. The officer-administrator is named in the report, and the church has tried to contact him without success. All someone would need to do from that particular congregation is to report it to the United Church Observer and suggest they write an article about it. United Church people are encouraged to divide their tithe money in half, with half going to the local and national church, and the other half to charities of their choice. In the past when the national church hears of mismanagement of funds by non-government organizations they inform our members and adherents not to support the charity. Because UCC members are undoubtedly the largest contributors to TSA, and the readership of the Observer is largely made up of those in their later years, a directive from the national church would be all they would need to remove the Army from their wills, and to refrain from donating annually as they have in the past. The Canadian territory therefore needs to be more transparent to the public and more supportive of Dr. Thistle, who is considered by many to be a Salvation Army Mother Teresa.

Alison Tennent August 25, 2012 at 11:10 am          It is an absolute disgrace what has happened to Dr. Thistle at Howard Hospital recently. I am not a member of the Salvation Army, but I am a physician (obstetrician/gynecologist) who has volunteered at Howard on 4 separate occasions. I just got back from Howard Hospital in July after working there for 3 months. I know the situation on the ground there very well. Your press release that says that the hospital is functioning well is completely inaccurate. When I was there, the hospital was busting at the seams, stretched beyond capacity with sick patients. The only reason it was staying afloat was because of the extraordinary efforts of one man, Dr. Paul Thistle. He was working ridiculous hours, seeing over a hundred patients a day and doing complex surgeries. On top of that he was doing the duties that the hospital administration should have been taking care of. It was quite obvious when I was there that the hospital administrator was completely incompetent and downright obstructive. How can you say that the hospital is running well with 2 doctors? What nonsense is that? I know these 2 doctors. They are not obstetricians or surgeons. They are general doctors. Dr Thistle is formally trained as an obstetrician and gynecologist, who has done extra training in general surgery, oncology surgery, urology surgery, complex wound management. How many of these types of doctors (with the surgical skills of Paul Thistle) do you have waiting in your ranks to replace him?

The decision to transfer him back to Canada with one month notice (and then later at 48 hours notice) is an irresponsible and downright dangerous decision. You cannot replace a doctor like that without at least a 6 months transition period with him and the new doctor both in place. I know for a fact that many women in that region will die of complications of pregnancy because he is not there. And where are all the sick and dying patients right now that I saw in the other wards? They are not at Howard; that has been confirmed. There are hardly any patients in the hospital right now. I can tell you they are not in Harare; they cannot afford the transport or the hospital fees. I urge you to wake up. Stop trying to protect your organization and focus your investigations on where the real problem lies, the leadership at the SA Territorial headquarters in Harare, specifically Commissioner Chigariro. Get Dr. Thistle back to Howard as soon as possible so more people in the Chiweshe region don’t die and suffer unnecessarily.

Elizabeth Argent

This whole situation is tragic and what is even more disturbing to me is the stand that the Army has taken with respect to Dr. Thistle, a well respected, hard working, honest, man. Today I am sad to be a Salvationist. The Army leadership who steadfastly sticks to its pat politically correct press releases and slick responses needs to stand up against the systemic corruption that thrives at Howard and within the Leadership in Zimbabwe….

Shirley Watkinson

I have read these comments, and am so sad that the SA is so ‘cold’ and seemingly indifferent to the people that come to HH for assistance. So much for ‘we care’, since ‘we’ don’t…. I have also been to HH and know about the long hours and devotion that Paul has for these people. He is a true Christian man….so where are all the others who are supposed to support him? Where are his superior (in name only, please) officers that have made this decision to simply pull him out and leave about 250,000 people without medical care? and hope? SW

       

Lorna Rogers Simard

You are telling people above, “If you have questions, we would suggest contacting The Salvation Army in Zimbabwe, or contacting our International Headquarters.” I contacted the Zim territory last week and have had no response. Now their THQ website has been removed from the web. When you type into your browser http://www.SalvationArmyZim.org. Up comes a box saying Bad Request – Invalid Host Name – so how are people to contact them now. as for IHQ, many people have emailed them with questions and comments and they just refer emails to the Canadian THQ and replies are received from THQ here – IHQ remains silent.

This seems like an internal SA 3 ring circus – IHQ deflecting emails to THQ Canada, and Canada telling people to contact IHQ and the Zim territory which has their website removed from the web. Ultimately the buck starts and stops with IHQ but we are all praying that SA leadership does the right thing in this situation and put the Thistle’s ASAP back at the Howard.

         

John Sullivan

It saddens me to know that United Church people, who have made large contributions to the work of the Howard Hospital, have had to ask that the money be returned, until the issue with Captain Dr. Thistle has been resolved. Instead of their concern being treated with sensitivity, the only response to their request, and the heartfelt pleas of others who have written to this site, is for the tambourine to be held out asking for more money! Why would anyone in their right mind make a contribution to THQ, knowing that it would be sent on to IHQ, which would send it on to THQ Zim, with the knowledge that some of it would disappear before it reached the hospital?

Kim MacDonad

I too worked as a physician at Howard Hospital for three months this past year. You won’t find a more dedicated, kinder or skilled physician in Zimbabwe, or pretty much anywhere. You don’t replace Paul Thistle, or go on at Howard Hospital without him, you can’t. This statement from the Salvation Army is marketing smooth talk and diversion, nothing more.

They either have no idea at the incompetence and corruption that is occurring at the administrative level at Howard Hospital, or don’t care.

I encourage Canadians, and caring citizens everywhere, to speak in number with your donations. Send them to reputable, professional and sincere international organizations. There are many to choose from, but the Salvation Army has shown from its handling of this matter, that they are not one of them. Demand answers as to where your money has gone. Ask why it has been stolen by members of the Salvation Army. There are hundreds of us that have volunteered money and time to the people of Zimbabwe. We know the community and hospital well. There is nothing humanitarian, Christian or right about this entire matter.

           

Marit Kalvo and Annlaug Teigene

We are shocked and do not understand that the Salvation Army has removed Dr. Thistle from Howard Hospital. A man that has dedicated his whole life to helping and treating sick and poor people. A man that worked hard in the hospital from early morning to late evening every day and spent most of his spare time getting sponsors and donations to Howard Hospital. Without him the hospital would not have had medicines and medical equipment for treating patients during the eighteen years he worked there. Since 2002 we have been at Howard Hospital every year for short and long periods, working as voluntary anesthetists. We know well both the hospital, workers and the community. In addition to working at the hospital we organize a Norwegian aid program, helping more than 100 children and young people by paying their school fees. During one of our stays at Howard Hospital we were surprised to learn that the Salvation Army does not contribute economically to Howard Hospital. Rather, the local Salvation Army drains money from the hospital. We have witnessed the administrators and other SA officers stealing from the hospital. We wrote a letter to International SA in London about this affair. Nothing was done. And now they have removed he who contributed and sacrificed. It is good to hear that SA Canada is sending medical supplies. We hope they are necessary medicines and medical supplies, as a lot of not usable supplies are sent. We know that medical supplies are constantly in demand at Howard Hospital. But who shall do the surgery when Dr. Thistle is no longer at the hospital? The two Zim doctors are not surgeons. They work at Out Patient and with medical treatment. Our last stay at Howard Hospital was in April/May this year. At the time there were between 10 and 15 operations a day, many complicated cases that only Dr. Thistle can operate. To carry out advanced surgery at a hospital like Howard, with so little medical equipment, requires a very experienced and skilled surgeon, like Paul Thistle.

Susan Heder

All my life, I have respected the Salvation Army, and though I am United Church, have supported the very necessary and practical work of the Salvation Army with personal donations, and persuading other organizations to donate. My husband and I were at Howard Hospital in 1998, and even then, a much younger Dr. Thistle was highly respected. So ours has been a very long supportive relationship with Howard Hospital, largely due to the confidence we had in the integrity of Dr. Thistle and the Salvation Army. My faith in the Salvation Army has been deeply shaken by their actions with respect to the Thistles and Howard Hospital. I will continue to follow this situation with great interest, particularly watching for how the Salvation Army in Zimbabwe, International, and in Canada, will redeem their reputation with the public. I wonder what God thinks of all this. May God watch out for the people of Chiweshe, the greatest losers in all this controversy. Wonderful as they are, the Thistles will continue to live. But some people in Chiweshe will die. Shame on some of the people (not all) in the Salvation Army.

Jennifer Reid

A friend from Zimbabwe and I just started a group called Zimbabweans and Canadians for Howard Hospital” on Facebook. Here’s the description; “This group is for Zimbabweans, Canadians, and others who believe that Howard Hospital is a very special place where the community and the hospital staff have worked together as a team over many hardship years, to provide successful health programs that work for the Zimbabwean people. The mountains were tough to climb, but the Howard staff and lots of community volunteers set up great services for very difficult challenges, like HIV and TB, maternal and child mortality, malnutrition, and AIDS orphans. They found ways to provide peer-based counselling, youth leadership, and volunteer homecare workers for dying patients. Sadly, last month the team was broken apart…. key staff were suddenly removed. So lets share strategies to bring back the right staff for the job!” Let me know if you want to join…. we would really like our Salvationist friends to help us know what to do! http://www.facebook.com/#!/jennifer.reid.1217

 Derere

Last Sunday, the local citadel, Nyachuru, had less than 20 of the more than 800 soldiers attending the services. probably a boycott…

jenn reid

I just heard that people have lost trust in TSA’s commitment to the region, and some are turning to traditional healers for treatment. If patients receiving AIDS & / or TB meds go off their medications, they run the risk of developing disease-resistant strains which can rapidly spread.

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Do you have any current information on the programmes that Dr Thistle initiated - the ARVs in particular? Or the schools initiative? Or the effects that his leaving has had on the community?

Also, there's the IHQ statement of October last - Major Pallant gave some assurances, but there's been no subsequent verification or otherwise whether the assurances have been carried out.

Here then, the commitments made!

TSA issued a statement on 26th October 2012, where it stated that:

Howard Hospital is highly valued by the Salvation Army which remains committed to the continuing development of health services in that community.

Question: how has that commitment translated into progress since Dr Thistle left?

Question: What is the current position on a successor to Dr Thistle?

The statement said that the dismissal of Dr Thistle was seen to be ‘an opportunity for Howard Hospital to receive some new leadership’.

Question: why was his replacement not in place when at least two years’ planning had gone into the move?

The statement said ‘we will be improving our services at Howard Hospital. So we can give these assurances to the community at Chiweshe’.

Question: What improvements have been made to date?

The statement said that TSA would ‘work on the completion of the new Howard Hospital and we are strongly hoping that the new hospital will be finished by the end of 2013’.

Question: Are these plans progressing? Reports on the Internet refute this fact.

The statement said that  ‘the commitment to the Tauriro Clinic and the ARV programme is absolutely there. We can report that the clinical review showed that we have all the drugs for ARV; that patients can receive those and there will be a continuity of care.

Question: IS that continuity of care taking place currently?

The statement said ‘we have had funding from USAID for children at school and every indication is that this is continuing’.

Question: Can you confirm that this is continuing?

The statement said ‘I was discussing just yesterday with some donors about bringing new equipment for HH’.

Question: Has that come to fruition? If so, what was the equipment that was provided?

The statement said ‘we assure the people of the Chiweshe community that The Salvation Army is committed to working with them to improve their quality of life and health’.

Question: How is this being enacted today?

NO RESPONSE WHATSOEVER FROM ANY SA SOURCE