Hospital Chaplains at work
The health service, like the prison service and the armed forces has a long tradition of appointing Christian clergy to provide religious and pastoral care to any who would receive it.
Historically, where a hospital was located within a parish, the incumbent became the local chaplain. On the whole, this system served hospitals well for many years and in some instances still does.
New Beginnings
In 1997 the local NHS Trust appointed the first whole-time chaplain to work at the Newport hospitals and to manage chaplaincy work across the Trust.
During 1997/98 a departmental service review took place which included a number of visits to established chaplaincy teams across England and Wales. The review provided a picture of the state of chaplaincy at that time, thus enabling the department to formulate a strategic plan to help get to where we wanted to be and identify the resources we needed to get there.
The following year was a time of change and development and, after extensive training and preparation, the chaplaincy team began to put in place the type of service that large university and district general hospitals require, for example: 24/7 on-call, bereavement support, partnership working with specialist teams such palliative care and critical care, as well as regular Sunday worship.
Hospital chaplaincy was strengthened again in 2001 with the appointment of a whole-time chaplain to be based in Nevill Hall and to lead the chaplaincy service in north Gwent. A further development saw the appointment of a chaplain to specialise in the field of mental health and learning disabilities. All three posts are currently filled by Church in Wales priests and these whole-time chaplains work alongside several part-time chaplains who balance parish / church commitments with those of the hospital.
The Role of the Chaplain
The work of the chaplain was and continues to be primarily pastoral.
Patients generally find hospitals very difficult places to be. Fear, uncertainty, anxiety and pain, these are common feelings shared by most patients even if they are in hospital for a routine procedure. If you add to that mix a long, long day with plenty of time to think and reflect upon life and the way you have lived it, then you find very fertile ground for significant pastoral distress.
The past few decades have witnessed a growing recognition by all healthcare professionals that spiritual pain has a major impact upon wellbeing and recovery. Hospital chaplains working in partnership with local clergy have an important function in the way they contribute to good quality holistic care and make a real difference to the patient’s experience.
In the gospels we see how our Lord reached out to the sick, the suffering and the dying, touching them with his loving and healing presence, offering hope, reassurance and even forgiveness. [Luke 5:20]
Essential to the work of the hospital chaplain is the call to follow the example that Jesus sets before us, to have compassion and love for the sick and needy and to touch them with the hands of Christ himself.
We do that by holding a hand as a patient tells their story, by signing the cross in holy oil upon the hands and the head of the sick and dying, by baptising the infant struggling for life in the incubator and by sharing in prayer and communion with those find hope, strength and renewal in their faith.
Hospital chaplains, local clergy, lay visitors, ministry teams, we are all privileged to work in the hospital setting, but this privilege brings great responsibility that we should carry out our work with sensitivity, wisdom and discretion, ensuring that we contribute to peoples health, recovery and wellbeing.
If you would like to know more about healthcare chaplains or would like to be part of the volunteer team at one the Trust hospitals, you contact us on 01633 234263.
Revd Alan Tyler, Senior Healthcare Chaplain