We are taking a 2 day break from our series on ethical leadership in order to share the update on the developments at HOWARD HOSPITAL. The story was released today in the Army's publication; ALL THE WORLD. We know you'll enjoy reading this update!
CLICK HERE TO READ THE STORY
CLICK HERE TO READ THE STORY
35 comments:
That is an inspiring message indeed - "Let's lower the bar and be mediocre like everyone else".
I understand there is now a department at IHQ devoted to finding the most effective, successful officers in all avenues of ministry - so they can be fired. That will make the rest look so much better - and if some social service clients have to do without, or some patients die, or some souls are lost, that's a small price to pay.
One can read in this write up whatever you want to see and ignore the rest. Selective reading to prove ones point is a common practice everywhere.
As to whether some people think that this positive reporting is largely due to FSAOF, this is ok. Maybe it has had a bearing here and there on the thinking of a few individuals but on the whole it has not been weighty nor substantial enough qua personalities and content involved.
I personally read it as positive and promising, an acknowledgment of a prolonged troubled time (a good number of years.
Also there seems to be a regaining of actual or perceived lost control of the institution by the SA through an internal sustainability package rather than depending on excessive volunteer and financial arrangements through external third party efforts that probably became too powerful and demanding to manage, even beyond the control of the departed previous CMO?
Enthusiasm and uncontrolled expanding of services have led to an unsustainable situation that has caused great stresses on the whole system. These have now been scaled back to more realistic proportions in line with available resources.
One must remember that Dr Thistle was part of the HH establishment through all this and carried part of the overall management responsibility, including the first phase of the building project.
The insistence on remaining in post at HH basically indefinitely or until it was felt it was time for a change (due to a very laudable strongly declared commitment to the local Chiweshe people and Zimbabwe) possibly undermined the authority of THQ and IHQ as line management in their own establishment.
Going by the ultimate happenings, these just did not come out of the blue. Very, very rarely is it a single issue that sets the world aflame. It must have increasingly become an untenable position during a prolonged lead up (I would guess at least 12-24 months -if not longer, of increasingly souring inter-personal relationships and meltdown) to the final events leading to the 48 hours notice being issued after everything got totally out of control with a violent riot etc. There was no other option left. I am pretty sure (1000%) that Dr Thistle would not have wanted a riot in support of his case to remain at HH. It was time for a change.
As to the monies being held in trust by IHQ for unstable developing countries in $$$ accounts, this is nothing novel and has been practiced for many decades and released only as and when needed. I doubt very much whether the initial monies for the development of the hospital were held in the nation itself and not at IHQ or New York. Once released to finance the development is the critical point as there are too many parties interested in getting hands on it ( the same goes for the developed world of course)
Lets pray and trust that with the new senior management in place, together with fresh control functions and development of human resources and financial resources the people of Zimbabwe will continue to benefit from this great institution.
NS
That's a good attempt at a balanced viewpoint - well done - there is much truth in what you say. Except for ....'The insistence on remaining in post at HH basically indefinitely or until it was felt it was time for a change ' - there was no-one to take over from Dr Thistle - there was no 'plan B', so TSA should not have let emotion and dislike take precedence over patient care. It should have restrained itself until such time as it had someone else ready to take over.
And to suggest that Dr Thistle should have taken some responsibility for the building of the new hospital as well as his his onerous medical duties is beyond reason. TSA has put into place a far more rigorous administration structure for the future which involves many more people - so I can't follow your reasoning here.
The report could have shown much more generosity of spirit towards a man who, although he may have not toed the party line and bowed in obeisence to the great TSA power machine, certainly made a difference in the lives of the ordinary person in his community.
NS writes; "One must remember that Dr Thistle was part of the HH establishment through all this and carried part of the overall management responsibility, including the first phase of the building project".
As a part of the 'management' and key HH fund raiser one can well understand his insistence that money and equipment earmarked for HH be properly acknowledged and forwarded to its designated centre.
It needs to be pointed out that Captain (Dr.) Paul Thistle WAS NOT a member of the initial team that so badly bungled the design of the hospital's expansion plans. He was brought on when it was recognized that he, more than anyone, had a vision for both the present demands and future expectations of HH.
I agree in essence with most of the rest of your premise but will never understand why an officer (TC) with many years of leadership experience was unable to work through the troubling details that eventually cost Thistle his job, the HH losing its only surgeon, the villagers losing a Christian friend and healer, and the TC any semblance of respectability remaining when considering her close friendship with the country's acting President, a murky blight on the SA Harare,
Former SA Missionary retired
When is there ever a plan B beyond keeping fingers crossed that all will go well with plan A? When matters get really out of control, it becomes like an Australian bush fire - impossible to manage except trying to contain it to a specific area and then let it burn itself out.
Internal power struggles are never tidy or neat. When inter-personal relationships between principal parties have become so soured and fractured then there has to be reconciliation and even after effecting a measure of reconciliation there is seldom much, if any trust left.
Too much is being said or written in the heat of the moment, all sorts of ridiculous accusations made that quickly can become very slanderous and personal in nature. That is why it can be better to have a parting of the ways for the good of everybody involved. That it happened in such an abrupt manner at HH surely is very regrettable indeed. When you do you are damned, and when you don't you are still damned so one has to get on with it and do it.
Being a CMO at a place like HH involves much more practical hands on and make do approach in general management matters than in a western state of the art establishment. Even now the newly Swedish Dr has such added responsibilities beyond his medical duties to ensure that everything will this capital project goes to plan and within budget.
NS
......and the TC any semblance of respectability remaining when considering her close friendship with the country's acting President, a murky blight on the SA Harare,
One must consider the history attached to this that would go back many decades when these two Zimbabwean ladies grew up together and got to know each other. That one became the president of the SA in Zimbabwe and the other the VP of Zimbabwe is quite an interesting combination. It is always good to be able to separate the personal from business - saves a lot of trouble and is less painful.
'Internal power struggles are never tidy or neat. '
Were talking about a Christian organisation here with Christian leaders. One can imagine this in a secular environment, but to have it happen to Christian leaders holding high office for a multinational concern is worrying indeed. Where was the grace, the compassion etc in all of it?
Internal power struggles? I don't think I'd like to be spending much time at IHQ. This should be Christian management, not everyone jockeying for position. Disappointing.
IHQ would not be the worst place to be, just go to an ordinary lowly corps/dhq setting in any country with an element of this going on. Ethical Christian management is not so different from ethical secular management principles after all.
That such human idiosyncrasies happen in what is after all a human organisational structure is fact and to be expected as iron sharpens iron etc. It is the system in place to deal with these fairly and satisfactorily that matters most. That is why there are O&R's in place as the guiding principle.
POLL RESULTS: September 18th
The HH and Dr. Paul Thistle issues:
Have been resolved to my satisfaction (8%)
Require further investigation by an outside agency (72%)
Were poorly handled by the SA (81%)
Were handled appropriately (11%)
Demonstrated the SA's; politics trumps humanitarian needs (50%)
Remain unresolved; people continue to suffer and die (80%)
Require apologies by the SA (73%)
This is a move in the right direction,it shows General Cox is onto the case and hopefully we will hear more in due course.
If all is well at Howard Hospital as stated in the report then the Salvation Army will welcome an external investigation, including a confidential inquiry in the community over the loss of life.
UK Soldier
Interesting to note that as the number of respondents to the blog poll increase that the percentage of visitors repulsed by IHQ's indifference to the expected tragic result at HH remain at a significant level.
Oh dear - a Salvation Army banana skin - how come Major Joan Wilson was not 'routinely' transferred in accordance with SA policy? The report said she's been at Howard Hospital since the 1980s. She is well past her routine move date in that case. Seems to be one rule for some, and different rules for others.
Well written and encouraging report. But what's next?
The major disaster here is the way the Army has handled this from the beginning. This was a small issue that should have been dealt with easily. But really bad pastoral processes happened here.
The Army will also always close ranks to preserve itself. The Army simply doesn't know how to deal with senior leaders when they get it wrong; they have no reverse gear to merely admit mistakes. They seem to need to keep heading in the wrong direction despite all the evidence to the contrary.
Former officer (IHQ)
This is yet another spin Dr.'s work with photos - perhaps the worst yet. While there may be some improvements happening, there is no acknowledgement of the tragic loss of life the Army's decisions have caused, no apology to the bereaved community, in fact there is no mention of deaths, just the ambiguous word 'problems' is used, and recent 'problems' are attributed to social and political upheaval in the country - what a lie!!
Another lie - to say that historically surgery was not a focus of the hospital. What a slap in the face to all the surgeons who have worked there. What do they think Major Dr. James Watt (R) was doing all those years?
Another lie - to say that in recent years the surgical program was taxing different aspects of the hospital ex nursing staff, beyond their capacity to cope. What was taxing the staff was the constant lack of money coming through from THQ Zimbabwe.
Oh, as I remember the former CMO had a name and so did his wife who set up many of the community programs. To not even mention the names of Dr. Paul and Pedrinah Thistle is nothing but to treat them as personae non gratis. That's what it means to be terminated from the cult of officership. In fact one sentence makes it sound like Joan Wilson (I think the name was) had started and run all these programs which the Thistle's had initiated and fundraised for back in Canada.
Far from being a public letter of apology to the Chiweshe community and to the Thistle's, this article is a dirty, filthy insult containing absolute lies.
It is absolutely sickening.
We can read into this article what we want according to our preference and perspective.
Was it ever meant to be a public letter of apology to the Chiweshe community and the Thistle's? Of course not. It is meant to show the excellent work that is continuing to be carried out after a few years ( more than one year) of ugly internal turmoil and also that any institution is far bigger than one person. No-one is untouchable or indispensable whatever the genius.
Zimbabwe SA - not unlike most GAT territories - does not have the financial resources to maintain its medical/ educational programme. Nor has IHQ for that matter. Its a bit like the UN, depending on available funding from elsewhere.
HH is a small/medium sized (charitable and commercial) business operation and has to be managed as such in order to be able to function for the benefit of the community it serves. Dr Thistle seems to have done a grand job during his time there.
ps....some lukewarm water with a little added salt does the trick quite well ;)
'This is yet another spin Dr.'s work with photos - perhaps the worst yet'.
Wow - that's very strong! The article certainly doesn't reflect the years of loyal, selfless service given by Drs Watt and Thistle. This omission may well still cost TSA its reputation and alienate further the people who know the history. These two CMOs altered the face of medicine in this community in their pursuit of clinical excellence for an impoverished people. There is veiled criticism in the article that they (especially Dr Thistle) allowed HH to develop beyond TSA's goal of 'primary care' services, but this development surely happened before this policy was decided? and the fact that its funding came largely from outside sources would suggest that it cost hardly anything for TSA.
The above (different) blogger says Dr Thistle ‘seems’ to have done a grand job. This is an example of litotes in the extreme. Again, by just reading about some of the articles by people who have volunteered at HH and accounts by the patients themselves will tell you how mealy-mouthed this comment is. TSA couldn't pay me enough to utter it, because basically, it's not a fair or just assessment.
To use anther well-known adage - faint praise is no recommendation – it’s actually more of an insult than the total omission in the ‘All the World’ article. (for those uninitiated in the world of British sayings, it means to criticise someone indirectly by not praising them enthusiastically).
What would it have cost TSA to mention the doctors' valuable contribution? A few sentences could have changed the whole tone of the article. To obliterate both their names and their efforts is to try to change history.
Exactly - this article is nothing but a slap in face and a dirty insult to those who did such wonderful work for God and the Army in that place. It is indeed an attempt to re-write history.
Of course this article was never intended to be an apology - that remark was made with tongue in cheek in a previous posting. But it is appalling how TSA can never publicly apologize for their mistakes as other churches can. And this is a little more than an average mistake - their decisions in 2012 have resulted and are resulting in tragic loss of human lives. Any amends must follow acknowledgement of error/mistakes/wrong-doing and public apology. They are leaving this important step out.
And the penance is....? surely it can not be anything less than the resignations and abandonment of the key people involved?
Don't hold your breath. The fact that people have only been 'reassigned' speaks volumes for TSA ignoring justice.
No, not holding my breath, the comment was made with tongue in cheek to draw a response.
For some on this blog anything less would be an injustice of the highest order and the matter would remain unresolved until avenge and revenge for the demise of the CMO and the wilful manslaughter (directly or indirectly causing the death of) of the Chiweshe people has been exacted.
The OT law of retaliation and reciprocal justice says: 'eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth' ......but NT Jesus said: .....do not resist an evildoer. If anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. (Matthew 5:38–39, NRSV)
An 'eye for an eye' encourages excessive vengeance rather than an attempt to limit it. So it is best avoided at any cost.
Mahatma Gandhi: "An eye for an eye for an eye for an eye ... ends in making everybody blind."
Martin Luther King, "The old law of an eye for an eye leaves everyone blind."
In Fiddler on the Roof, the protagonist, Tev, replies to the phrase with "And then the whole world would be blind and toothless."
Is this what Dr Thistle and the people of Chiweshe would want to happen? It may well be but I doubt it very much.
Let's be careful lest we fall in the same trap and then be found wanting ourselves in our open and hidden personal lives with the same rule being applied on us and ending up toothless, without ears, tongue, nose less or even dead.
NS
WHY couldn't have TSA apologised? is a repetitive theme here. I came across this article, which might explain why.
Why is it so hard to say ‘I’m sorry’?
By psychotherapist Dr. Robi Ludwig
We all make mistakes. Nobody is perfect. So why is apologising so difficult to do? Most of us like to be the recipient of a heartfelt apology, but giving is different from receiving, isn't it?
There are many reasons why saying "I'm sorry" is such a challenging endeavor. First of all, who likes to admit they're wrong?
Sometimes it's the fear of rejection. The prospect of getting a cold shoulder, not being forgiven or losing a friend can be unsettling, especially when it comes from someone you still love, care about and want to maintain a relationship with. Sometimes people feel that initiating an apology is a sign of weakness.
Apologizing can make some feel vulnerable, or feel like they are in danger of losing their power and status. Others simply equate saying "I'm sorry" with admitting they're inadequate or incompetent. Some people find saying they’re sorry humiliating.
Some people prefer to stay in denial. Their logic says: If you don't admit you've done anything wrong, then it's almost like not doing anything wrong at all. If there is no admission of fault, then there is no need to take responsibility. If it were only that easy! Some view giving an apology in very black-and-white terms. Giving an apology is like being the "loser" and the person receiving the apology is the "winner."
Sometimes it's our pride or ego that gets in the way. And, of course, those who lack empathy can have a hard time embracing another person's feelings or perspective altogether, which makes saying sorry virtually impossible to do.
Apologies aren't supposed to be easy. They are supposed to be soul-baring. That's why, when done right, they are so powerful and rehabilitative. It's hard to admit that we've hurt someone's feelings or caused someone pain, whether it's intentional or not. It's also hard to see ourselves in a less-than-positive light. It requires taking off the blinders we wear and facing our flaws.
Saying sorry is meant to make us feel vulnerable. How could it not? But it's really important to do in order for us to have healthy relationships. We all want and need to feel safe with the people we allow into our inner circle. We want to know that the people we are close to care about how we feel and are willing to admit their flaws. Not taking responsibility for wrongdoings makes us seem unsafe or untrustworthy. And withholding an apology is certainly not going to win us any friends! Saying you're sorry shows those you love that you care enough about them and the relationship to be aware of your shortcomings and take responsibility for your hurtful actions. In the end, making things right is way more important than being right.
‘Seek forgiveness to allow the healing to begin’.
‘A genuine apology goes a very long way to putting right the hurt done. Fail to offer it and the victim of the thoughtlessness will not see you as strong but as selfish, self absorbed and ultimately, not worth knowing’.
5 letters - S.O.R.R.Y - could have made such a difference to attitudes on all sides. Such a shame they weren't included in the ATW article.
That is assuming that the SA has got something to apologise for. It probably has for its own part in the whole saga. What it could not do is apologise for the part that others played in the developing inter-relational meltdown and the resultant rather messy outcome for all concerned.
But that would likely not be sufficient for some on this blog as one party is deemed dark black and guilty as sin and the other lily white and innocent without a blemish. I for one do not believe that to be the case.
Such concerns are notoriously difficult to bring to a mutually satisfactory conclusion without at least a measure of compromise. And that word 'compromise' is a dirty word in some evangelical Christian circles where there are no grey areas of any kind- only abstract black and white.
NS
I don't agree with your assessment that one side is dark black and the other lily white etc - that is a silly statement. Everyone has faults, but what is lacking in this too little, too late ATW article is any sign of contrition at all. It is TSA portraying itself as lily-white, in a reversal of your statement. You say 'It probably has' apologised - where? I haven't seen any words of this nature.
The Sunday Mail's writer, Phyllis Kachere wrote an article on HH in August 2012. I don't recall it being included in any of the articles printed. An extract is this:
***Living in a world of privatised medicine in Zimbabwe, we are obliged to remember that a sick person is not just a paying customer but a human spirit with a will to live and a sense of dignity and personality.
“Those who view healthcare as any other business overlook these truths. To quote Dr Paul Brand, a former orthopaedic surgeon to India, ‘Though technically we may be concerned with tendons, bones, and nerve endings, we must never lose sight of the person we are treating.’ We must not leave the mission out of mission hospital,” wrote Howard Hospital chief medical officer Dr Paul Thistle in an epistle in February.
It is this strong conviction in the mission that has endeared Canadian national and officer in The Salvation Army Dr Thistle to the Chiweshe community. These strong ties last week led thousands of these villagers to gather at Howard Hospital in Chiweshe, Mashonaland Central, to demonstrate their anger against The Salvation Army (which runs the institution) for trying to remove him from the hospital and sending him back to his country of origin, Canada.
Work at the hospital came to a halt as both workers and villagers joined hands in protesting the decision. Several sick people had to be discharged from the hospital, as there was no doctor to attend to them as Dr Thistle was ordered by the church authorities to stop working. ***
It is the last sentence which is so shocking, that a 'compassionate' christian organisation could only think so blindly about its man-made policies, loyalty to the 'organisation' and protecting its officers that it completely disregarded the human plight of the sick, for whom it is supposed to care. It left them - many of them in mid-treatrment - with no-one to care for them medically, in its ill-judged obsession with SA protocol. THAT is what it needs to apologise for - forgetting about the mission.
Thank you, you certainly give a valid and interesting perspective.
You say 'It probably has' apologised - where? I haven't seen any words of this nature.
Where was that written? Read the whole in context: that it probably has got something to apologise for its own part...
"That is assuming that the SA has got something to apologise for. It probably has for its own part in the whole saga."
Is this English? Sorry - I don't understand it. 'Probably has got something to apologise for' and 'probably has' apologised are two different things.
correct!
There's no point in chasing riddles, sorry.
A good enigma or conundrum keeps the mind sharp and alert. A good riddle is like a puzzle. The whole HH issue is one big riddle for those not in the know. The two main parties involved - Dr Thistle and the SA very wisely are keeping their integrity intact by saying nothing at all.
Both are moving/ have moved on from the past knowing that what has been done can not be undone. There is no way back to how it was prior to July 2012. Nor would this be desirable for the good of everybody involved. Too much water has gone under the bridge for anything like that to happen.
With hindsight, in the cold light of day, I am pretty certain that each will deeply regret what has gone on before and the parts they have played in the ultimate negative outcome.
For us, as outsiders looking in with very little to no intimate knowledge this may be truly puzzling indeed. Some FSAOF arm chair critics may think that they have got the final pieces to complete this jig saw, I say they are truly mistaken.
NS
In view of the ATW article, some members, including myself, will see this now as more of a church discipline issue, where TSA should acknowledge it made mistakes. Acknowledging error and seeking remission for error is essential in both church and personal practice.
The ATW article is short on this. Ignoring wrongdoing is no basis for progression as Christians, whether members or leaders. TSA definitely wasted the chance to put this right. With a little more thought and spirituality, this could have been addressed. Now it is just like an open sore. Very bad form by spiritual leaders.
There is no ignoring that all has not been well in the past, in fact, there is a generous acknowledgement of that there has been trouble at the mill and that this is being rectified. There is much wisdom in not publicly dragging in a former party that is no longer under the organisational discipline of ths SA. That is a private matter between them and should remain so without prejudice. Personnel matters can be and often is intensely personal in nature and substance.
Each will regret deeply that it has come to this and any apology that has to be made should be a private one with a view of reconciliation ( if that is what is required and has not already happened). Usually this takes time and requires great sensitivity on both parts. This also may take a facilitator to make this come to pass as there are hurt ego's all round.
NS
I was looking at it more from the community's point of view. They are the ones who have been affected the most by this. I agree wholeheartedly with your point about personnel issues - they are and should remain private - but it's the deed that's the issue - and the needless suffering it caused through TSA's hasty decision.
If a boil is not lanced, it will continue to fester for longer than necessary, and the infection will spread further before healing begins.
NS's comments, while trying to paint an impartial picture, are very judgmental considering that he admits he has no direct knowledge of what happened at Howard. While no one has access to what IHQ is thinking, those who know and respect Dr. Thistle can attest to his honesty and integrity and his love for the people he served. The Army has done very little to contribute to Howard Hospital except take credit for other people's good work. Where were they during the cholera epidemic and the civil war that raged throughout 2008? Where is money that went missing and remains unaccounted for? Any legitimate secular organization would have been ordered to conduct an independent audit and review of accounting principles. Although Dr. Thistle raised funds, he was not responsible for the hospital's accounts. He was too busy doing what he was called upon to do. Administration was up to the Army and still is.
Well said. The ATW article is appalling.
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