1. Key Issues Regarding the Future of Christian Hospitals
02 December 2002
- Importance of context of the hospital for paradigm shifts in running Christian Hospitals (CHs) (e.g. size and attitude of Christian community, church involvement in social outreach, numbers of and support for national Christian health professionals, etc.)
- Self-sustaining hospitals realistic? (staff, funds, relevance to community?)
- Tensions between church and CHs
- Model of Biblical partnership - between nationals, western missionaries, national church leadership, etc.
- Training and longitudinal involvement with Christian Health Professionals (CHPs) and Govt. organisations
- Governance – mission/diocese/denomination, v. local and specific/specialised.
- Vision – still focussed on the poor and the gospel?
- Western medical training - implications for Western medical missionaries
- Recruitment of national doctors - training, pay, career structure, inspiration and motivation
- Maintaining interest in the West e.g. “money follows prayer”
- Does money from Western missions and trusts only go where ex-patriot missionaries are in place?
- Community care based on the hospital?
- Funding, training and investing in local leaders
- Engagement with Govt – sacred/secular split.
- How do we hold on to Christian thinking when engaging and partnering with secular agencies?
- Western CHP missionaries as educators rather than doers - catalyst rather than activist.
- What does discipleship mean?
- Importance of care for the whole person
- Awareness of Western CHPs to holistic approach
- Brain drain from developing countries to NHS and other Western health systems
- Drugs availability
- Role of short-termers
- Advocacy – engaging with THE WORLD! Political dimensions of mission and CHs.
- Continuing emphasis on Primary Healthcare (PHC) with major agencies
- Challenge of rural/urban split 80/20
- Bonds for education – pros and cons
- Importance of nurturing staff and leaders during training
- Paradigm Shifts needed (seven key areas highlighted - see handout from EHA)
- On-going Partnerships between mission agencies, churches, CHs, governments, and secular development and other global bodies
- Training and Education - developing the next generation of national CHPs and leaders.
- Sustainability - if this is not achievable, what are the alternatives?
- Engaging with the World
- God the Father’s Love
- The Holy Spirit’s Power
- Christ’s Compassion
- The Gospel's Truth
- PRIME in Eastern Europe (Albania, Romania, Ukraine, etc.) and increasingly elsewhere, developing GP education/on-going training with government agencies.
- MSI developing innovative primary care models in Western China alongside the Chinese Govt.
- Nazareth Hospital working in Gaza - a significant Christian presence in a Muslim/Jewish community.
- Leprosy Mission - developing integrated care through training local workers
- Chikankata Hospital - community involvement (see article in HealthServe summer issue 2002)
- Sponsorship programmes (e.g. Sponsor a Nurse - see Kisiizi website for more details)
- Good Samaritan fund (Kisiizi)
- Hope Ministries for HIV/AIDS
- Refresher Course (CMF /MMA Healthserve)
- UK Trustees have legal obligation for governance – Salvation Army diversification locally
- EHA South-to-South Co-operation (and funding?)
- Dissemination of good practice through Healthcare Mission Forum
- Can EHA’s experience be translated to other countries? (1-5th October 2003 Conference in Hyderabad, India will be a chance to explore this further contact us for more info)
- Health insurance systems successfully implemented in Africa? Look at other models in the Philippines, India and Yemen.
- Will future missionary doctors work in Govt. hospitals or CHs or for UNICEF/DfID/WHO, or all of these options?
- Details of contacts in WHO/DfID etc and UK CMF or other Christian organisations who have worked in “mission”
- How do we find out the real needs amongst the “real poor”? (Micah network set up through TEAR Fund)
- Strategies for helping the poor – proactive or by default?
- Build up a body of contacts/models of best practice/multi-disciplinary expertise for short-term visits and capacity building in the field. Find out who is out there and what they know and find ways of linking them with those CHs that need expert input.
- More input from hospitals dealing with the issues raised by being in Muslim majority nations.
- Investigate the possibility of setting up an international board of healthcare mission to vet personnel and hospitals, act as liaison between DfID/USAid/WHO, etc. and Christian hospitals, and co-ordinate sharing of expertise and strategic planning.
- Set up a general Christian hospitals' Yahoo type discussion group, or possibly break this down into regional forums as needs/interest dictate.
02 December 2002
