| SACH Scottish Association of Chaplains in Healthcare |
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| SACH Scottish Association of Chaplains in Healthcare |
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SACH
Soundings Page 7 Developing Spiritual Care Policies At long last the Spiritual Care in NHS Scotland guidance was published by the Health Department of the Scottish Executive on the 28th of October. The guidance asks Chief Executives of NHS Boards and NHS Trusts in Scotland to develop and implement spiritual care policies that are tailored to the needs of the population served by each NHS Board. A fundamental part of the development of these policies is providing stakeholders with an opportunity to voice their views. This will empower stakeholders and encourage a sense of ownership ensuring that spiritual care services are delivered in a responsive way according to the needs of patients, carers and staff. Personally, I view the consultation process as almost more important than the policy itself !!! I am sure we have all come across examples of how not to undertake a consultation process. It is therefore essential that chaplains and managers are focused in their approach and clear about who is being involved and what will happen to the information gathered. There are a number of approaches that can be used and these include quantitative, qualitative and consultative techniques. More information about these methods can be found on the Healthcare Chaplaincy Training and Development Unit’s website www.chaplains.co.uk. It is probably most effective to use more than one method. For example a questionnaire devised for patients, carer’s and staff could be followed up with a development conference, at which local faith communities and other stakeholders would have the opportunity to be involved in the decision making process. The Healthcare Chaplaincy Training and Development Unit is available as a resource to assist and support those charged with the task of developing spiritual care policies. In addition a number of support resources also currently exist within NHS Board areas. These internal resources are available to offer support and advice on appropriate methodologies / involvement processes and may include: Public Involvement Officer/ Manager All consultation should result in action. By not wasting peoples time and commitment future participation will be encouraged and progress ensured. As part of the policy development process, consultation will assist in providing clearer answers to the key questions Where are we now?, Where do we want to go? and How are we going to get there? Andrew Moore Two New Opportunities Two new courses have just been completed over the last couple of weeks. A first half unit of CPE has been undertaken in Glasgow with Valerie Duff as tutor, and a course on “Talking Spirituality, Creating Staff Confidence” was facilitated by Harriet Mowat and Desmond Ryan. More information is available on the web site, www.chaplains.co.uk. Both will happen again from early next year. For more details contact the Training and Development Unit at Queen’s Park House Tel 0141 201 5392 Chris Levison Rev Chris Levison |
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