1. I have been following the visit to Karanda Mission Hospital by @NgarivhumeJacob. He witnessed a number of people from all over Zimbabwe who are camping at this Mission Hospital because it is probably the only public health facility with a good reputation around the Country.
2. Zimbabweans owe some gratitude to not only Karanda Mission Hospital but almost every mission hospital around Zimbabwe for their attempts to keep providing services to the poorest Zimbabweans under the most trying and difficult circumstances.
3. I want to also applaud my that amazing organization @assoczach which has been doing its best to help maintain the best standards of care at these Mission Hospitals. I am grateful for the opportunity to have served as a Board Member of this important organization.
4. Whilst the focus is on all the patients and their relatives who are camped at this facility, I am also concerned about the staff at this hospital. The usual staffing levels at most of these Mission hospital can hardly match the communities they serve.
5. Most of these Mission Hospitals tend to serve at least three districts (Mount Darwin and Rushinga) for Karanda. Beitbridge, Gwanda and Maphisa for Manama Mission Hospital. The arrival of patients from all over the country is likely to lead to staff burnout here.
6. I am hoping that @assoczach will be able to mobilize resources for all other mission hospitals across the Country to help relieve pressure on Karanda Mission.
7. I am also a little bit curious as to why the non denominational Church Organization that runs Karanda is able to mobilise more resources for this hospital when compared to the much more affluent Denominations like Catholics, Anglicans and Lutherans?
8. There is something else that troubles me about this incident. It does appear that we have a tendency as Zimbabweans to assess our health services the same way we evaluate our traditional healers. This is from personal experience.
9. Some years ago I had a patient arrive at Manama Mission Hospital from Mwenezi. I was curious as to why he would travel all that much for tuberculosis treatment, at risk of infecting multitudes if people along the way.
10. He told me that a relative of his who married in Gwanda to him that Manama provided the best treatment for Tuberculosis. I was stunned. He had already been started on TB treatment at the District Hospital there. There was nothing different we could do for him.
11. I would not be surprised to learn that some of the people camping at Karanda have simple conditions that can be managed at their local clinics and the cost of buying own meds pales into insignificance when compared to the travelling and camping costs at Karanda.
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