Tariro – An ongoing story of hope Part two

FSAOF Commentary

Tariro – An ongoing story of hope

Part two

Hope for today

Major Welch presents a broad view of the Howard Hospital, providing insights and a few tidbits of new information which was not as well-known.  It is worthy of notingthe portion pertaining to the Nurse Training Center, and to gain a clearer understanding of the coursework offered in that program.  Major Joan Gibson is at the helm of this program. Her efforts have often gone unnoticed to the world at large, but her training of the new nurses has made a difference to thousands of people. For that, she is to be commended.

Of course, the amount of time that Major Gibson has spent at the Howard Hospital (somewhere between 20 and 30 years) has caused a strong, negative reaction from a great number of people. This reaction is based on statements made by Canadian Salvation Army officials saying that officers are regularly transferred, and that it is rare to stay in an appointment for more than 5 years. As the length of time in appointment by Paul and Pedrinah Thistle was given as one of the reasons for their marching orders to leave Howard Hospital, people are questioning why Major Gibson has remained at Howard.

According to the Tariro article, 1,000 babies are safely delivered each year, and mothers stay in the hospital for three days, recovering and learning the necessary skills and practices used in caring for infants. The maternity program appears to serve the community well and provide needed assistance.

The statistics provided, on the other hand, do not accurately reflect the downturn in the number of births. In 2005, over 2,400 babies were born at the Howard Hospital, and the average number of births trended upwards to an approximate 10% increase to 2,700 babies born in 2011-2012.

Also, the statement that mothers remain in the hospital for 3 days after the birth of their child does not reflect the former state of the post-birth hospital stays. Prior to September 2012, new mothers stayed only one day due to the lack of available beds in the maternity ward (which has remained unchanged) because of the popularity of the Howard Hospital maternity program.

It is noted that the article states the hospital maintains a 144-bed capacity. Further statements indicate that approximately 60 of those 144 beds are occupied overnight (just over 40% of capacity), and of those 60 beds, the majority of those overnight stays occur on the maternity ward. Using simple math, it means that less than 30 patients occupy the beds in the male, female and children’s wards. This is a far cry from the former state of the Howard, where the wards were full, and often over-full.

The article states that, on an average day, 150 people are attended to by the outpatient and antenatal clinics, and the Tariro HIV/AIDS clinic. This is half the number of people served daily by Howard Hospital last year. Of course, this reduction is explained away as being due to the “departure” of Dr. Paul Thistle. Yes, if there are not as many surgeries being performed, there will not be as many patients requiring a follow up.  However, the reduction of surgeries is not the only reason why there are fewer patients.

One of the major contributing factors for the reduction in patient load for the Howard can be directly attributed to the statement made in the article: “… complicated cases were referred to provincial hospitals in Harare and Bindura…”

There are a number of individuals who have served at the Howard in one capacity or another, or who have visited the Howard and established relationships with the people of the surrounding community. These individuals have shared reports from the local community which provide an unfiltered view of the actualities of what is happening at Howard.

- According to the local community, people are avoiding going to Howard because they do not wish to be referred to the provincial hospitals. They report that referred patients are not being treated adequately (certainly not up to the previous standards which were available at Howard prior to August 2012). The patients are not receiving needed treatment or surgery, and quite often not even having lab testing or receiving medication, because they cannot afford the fees charged by the provincial hospitals. Many patients have died, causing problems for the families in trying to retrieve and transport the remains back home for burial.

The cost of adequate medical services has always been a burden for the people of Chiweshe.  And now that The Salvation Army has scaled down operations at Howard Hospital, the people have few options left. Often it comes down to a choice of food for your family and yourself, or trying to come up with the necessary amount of money to pay for services and medicine at the provincial hospital.

A number of commenters on the FSAOF blog have suggested a simple solution, which has to date been either ignored, or considered and rejected, by the Salvation Army officials. Instead of referring patients to provincial hospitals, transfer and offer transport to Karanda Hospital. At Karanda, there is excellent specialist care supplied by 3 surgeons and 3 staff doctors, which is available at rates the poor can afford, and no one is rejected for inability to pay. Karanda offers one thing more that is not available at the provincial hospitals; the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Karanda is a Christian mission hospital, where the Gospel is shared and taught freely and openly.

… to be continued

Jolinda Cooper

Former SA officer

USA