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12 March 2003

Contents Soundings:13

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SACH  Soundings
 No 13 March 2003

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Spiritual Care Guidelines

Work is now progressing all over Scotland to produce Spiritual Care policies for Health Board areas. Chaplains are being involved to a greater or lesser extent in the process. Three chaplains in the north and east are playing a lead role in their areas. In Highland, Iain Macritichie has been given a session and a half a week to work with a small team to work on the Guidelines. A similar pattern is in place in Grampian where Fred Coutts is leading the process. Tayside has been working on the Guideline process for a year and has advertised and now appointed a Head of Department (Gillian Munro) who will lead the next stage of preparing their Spiritual Care Policy.
 

Copies of
Spiritual Care in NHS Scotland Guidelines [HDL (2002) 76] can be obtained from Chris Levison
or at www.spiritualcare.org.uk/hdl(2002)76.pdf
 

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News From Fife 

In response to the launch of the new guidelines for Spiritual Care in the NHS we drew together a programme for a Trust wide Spiritual Care Study Day which took place on 2 October 2002- just before the guidelines were distributed to Trusts. Over 50 members of staff attended the day which was held across the Trust at Queen Margaret and Victoria Hospitals. The new Guidelines on Spiritual Care for NHS Trusts, published by the Scottish Executive, were introduced by Chris Levison, Chaplaincy Training and Development Manager, who also made a short presentation to the Trust Board. His colleague Andrew Moore spoke on Spiritual Aspects of Healthcare with the Chaplains illustrating spiritual and pastoral care situations by sharing some case studies.
Staff participated in a discussion on a presentation on “Cultural diversity and our common humanity” prepared by Salma Siddique from F.R.A.E. Fife (Fairness, Race Awareness, and Equality). The diversity of staff attending and the level of participation make an encouraging basis for future training sessions, particularly in the area of the diverse cultural and spiritual needs of our patients.
The feedback received was positive and the following areas among those suggested for further study days on Bereavement Care, Staff Support, Role of Volunteers, Input from Patients/Carers and Input from leaders of various Faiths.
We are now in the middle of a Spiritual Care Audit which we are taking forward with the help of a Clinical Effectiveness Facilitator. The first phase of this audit is a staff questionnaire which we hope will help us assess how much recognition is given by staff to Spiritual Care and provide evidence to further develop Spiritual Care as an integral part of a multidisciplinary approach to patient care. We envisage exploring some of the issues raised by this assessment by working with staff in focus groups.
We would be please to hear from any colleagues who have experience of Spiritual Care audit and particularly, the focus group approach to issues.

Ian MacDonald and Isabel Whyte
Fife Acute Hospitals.
 

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