| SACH Scottish Association of Chaplains in Healthcare |
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AGM 2003 The SACH AGM was held on
I was doing some pulpit supply a number of years ago and after the
congregation had left at the end of the evening service the Session
Clerk came up to me and said, “Next time you come do you think you could
make the service a bit longer?” Many of you will know that I have taken
no heed of this criticism- I believe that brevity, as well as cleanliness,
is next to godliness. So I won’t labour any of the following points-
I too have no reverse gear! It is very likely that Healthcare Chaplaincy will become a registered
profession under the auspices of the Health Professions Council within
the next 2-3 years. What this means in practice is that anyone wanting
to work as a chaplain in a healthcare setting will have to be on the
register of chaplains kept by the HPC. Most other healthcare professionals,
doctors nurses, physios, have a similar system. Registration will require
individuals to subscribe to a code of conduct; meet the required academic
or professional standards and undergo continuing professional development.
This is something of a hot potato! You are all well aware of the difficulties
that can crop up in getting the information we need to do our job. Part
of the problem lies in the fact that spiritual care is not viewed as
an integral part of patient care. There is also the added complication
that the spiritual care guidelines produced by the Scottish executive
are much broader in their definition of what spiritual care is than
that which pertains south of the border where the legislation was created.
The following were elected to the committee - President Derek Brown, Secretary Monica Stewart and Treasurer Keith Saunders were relected. Committee Members:
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| Minutes
of the SACH AGM Held at Stirling Royal Infirmary on 8 October 2003 Derek Brown welcomed members to the AGM. Worship was led by David Mitchell. Attending Jim Allardyce, Derek Brown, Margaret Browning, Margery Collin, J Stanley Cook, Fred Coutts, Alan Donald, Sue Duncan, Stephen Dunn, James Falconer, Joanne Finlay, John Fraser, Muriel Knox, Chris Levison, Anne MacDonald, Stuart Macdonald, Malcolm MacRae, Iain Macritchie, David Mitchell, Andrew Moore, Anne Mulligan, Gillian Munro, Keith Saunders, Monica Stewart, John Thomson, Carrie Upton Apologies Tim Battle, Sandra Bell, Murray Chalmers, May Commins, Ken Coulter, Marian Cowie, Tom Gordon, Judith Hugget, Alison Hutchison, Margaret Kitson, Edward Lewis, Deirdre Lyon, Ian McDonald, Pat McDonald, Andrew McMillan, Hilda Smith, Sylvia Spencer, Marjorie Taylor, Iain Telfer, Ann Watt, Isabel Whyte Minutes The Minutes of the AGM held on 10 October 2002 were approved, proposed by Stuart Macdonald and seconded by Alan Donald. President’s Report Derek Brown reported on the work of the Executive over the past year. (Copy of report attached). Treasurer’ Report Keith Saunders presented the accounts (copy attached) for the period 1 July 2002 to 30 June 2003 and spoke to the detail. Income from subscriptions and from the Journal had increased over the last year. There was also a significant increase in expenditure for postages. The premium for Professional Indemnity Insurance had remained the same. The number of members (currently 146) had remained steady. Keith’s work as treasurer had been simplified by the appointment of Andrew Moore as Membership Secretary. Andrew was now handling subscription renewals. Andrew and Monica were thanked for their help with processing new applications and administration of the database. The Executive had pursued the issue of whether the PII policy would cover criminal legal charges incurred by a chaplain in the course of professional duty. It seemed that criminal acts would not be covered although each case would be looked at on its own merit. One grant from the Training and Development Fund had been awarded during the past year. Two applications had been turned down since a decision had been made not to grant second-time applications. Keith encouraged members to make applications. The accounts were proposed by John Fraser and seconded by David Mitchell. Report on the Journal David Mitchell reported on the Journal. Georgina Nelson and David had now been joint editors for 5 years and continued to enjoy the work. Working patterns had evolved over this period. One of example of this was that work on commissioning material was now being completed one year in advance of publication. The Editorial Board had been expanded over the years: a wide range of denominations was now represented on it. The Board met twice a year. All articles were reviewed initially by one or two members of the Board. Much of the work involved in sourcing articles was done by the Board. One method of identifying contributors was to attend conferences. One particular area of success in the Journal was the book review section. It was now the main source of reviews for books published by Radcliffe Medical Press. The credibility of the Journal was now assured, thanks partly to the SACH website. It was recognized as an important educational resource. The Board was considering whether to publish the full text of the Journal on the website. There would be further discussion about this. Until recently the Journal had been the only publication of its kind in the UK. However, the College of Healthcare Chaplains had re-launched its journal recently. The new editor hoped that closer co-operation would be possible. Professor Steven Wright, editor of Sacred Space, was also interested in exploring ways of working together. The Journal was now registered with the British Library and with the National Library of Scotland. David encouraged members of SACH to think about writing articles or book reviews, both for our own Journal and for other publications. Although a considerable amount was being written about spiritual care, very little of it was written by chaplains. David thanked members for their support. David wondered whether SACH might consider funding a place for a member of the Board at a forthcoming conference in Aberdeen. The Executive agreed to this. James Falconer spoke briefly about promotion and distribution of the Journal. In the past year subscriptions had increased from 57 to 80. Only 10 of those were foreign subscriptions and there was an issue about how to promote the Journal more widely abroad. The Board was still happy to work with the printers, Rainbow, Dyce. Most of the work involved in distribution would now be handled by Sheena Pirie, chaplaincy secretary at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary. Derek thanked David, James and the Editorial Board for their commitment, enthusiasm and hard work. Report of the Training and Development Officer Chris Levison spoke about the work that he and Andrew Moore had been involved in during the past year and about plans for the future. (see copy of report attached). Additional points Considerable interest had been shown in the SEHD conference, A Seamless Transition, which would take place on 26 November 2003. Chris had now completed half a unit of CPE and would encourage us to think of this course as part of our continual professional development. However, there were no accredited supervisors as yet. One possibility for the future of the Unit was that it would become part of NHS Education. The chaplaincy website was a great support and an important resource. Increasingly, it was becoming known abroad. The Management Group continued to meet quarterly. Until now its role had been mainly supportive but it was hoped that a more creative role might be developed. The Training and Development Unit had been in existence for 2 years now and continued to be a stimulating place to work. Chris encouraged us to make use of the unit. James Falconer suggested that a letter be sent from the President to Hector McKenzie expressing how much the work of the unit was appreciated. This was agreed. Derek thanked Chris and Andrew for their work and wished them well with future developments. Elections Derek began by thanking Andrew Moore for his work as membership secretary. He also thanked Isabel Whyte and Jim Allardyce who had completed their terms as ordinary members of the Executive. President Derek was willing to continue in post. There being no other nominations, he was duly re-elected. Secretary Monica was willing to continue in post. There being no other nominations, she was duly re-elected. Treasurer Keith had indicated that he wished to stand down. However, in the absence of any nominations for the post, he agreed to continue in the meantime. Ordinary members Hilda Smith was proposed by Iain Macritchie and seconded by Carrie Upton. Anne MacDonald was proposed by Joanne Finlay and seconded by James Falconer. There being no other nominations, Hilda and Anne were duly elected. AOCB Fred Coutts reported briefly on the European Network of Healthcare Chaplains. The next consultation would take place in Dublin from 1-5 September 2004. Fred hoped that SACH would be represented at the event. Chris Levison had attended the last consultation in Finland and had found it to be very worthwhile. Afternoon Discussion Session Derek introduced the afternoon session. Having
considered feedback from last year’s AGM, it had been decided not to
invite an outside speaker to address the meeting. Derek welcomed five
members of SACH who had agreed to form a panel. They were Anne Mulligan,
Gillian Munro, John Thomson, Fred Coutts and Chris Levison. Questions
from the floor were invited and there followed discussion on a range
of topics. These included the European Network of Chaplains in Healthcare;
registration; supervision; direct employment; pay & conditions for
whole-time and part-time chaplains There was a certain amount of confusion around
the issue of registration. It was felt that a more proactive approach
by the Executive was needed. It was important that SACH and CHCC discussed
how SACH might be more involved in the process. SACH might also approach
the Health Professions Council directly to express interest in registration.
David Mitchell asked that the Association of Hospice Chaplains be kept
in touch with any developments. It was suggested that the next edition
of SACH Soundings be used to communicate with members on Registration. |
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Rev Derek Brown (President)