SACH
SACH Soundings
No 42 July 2010
Engaging with the Quality Agenda
I’m writing this just before England kick off their match against Germany in the World Cup so that I can say that I have no bias depending on how the result goes. It’s never failed to amaze me how people’s livelihoods and reputations can be built up and knocked down inside 90 minutes. And yet being sacked by your former team doesn’t seem to stand in the way of future employment all that often, unless of course you’re a butterfingered goalie. I just wondered if the team got paid per goal as some kind of incentive, even if it’s for the opposition.
There is of course the great tennis show on too, if you can see it between the football matches. I was wondering how Nicolas Mahut was feeling after his marathon encounter with John Isner when he realises that after ten hours playing he’ll get the same prize money as someone summarily despatched by one of the Williams sisters in less than one. Performance related pay goes by the board there, I think, but there is something vaguely scriptural about that.
If I don’t hurry up and finish this I’ll know which fans will be feeling the Shankly prophesy deeply, the one that say that football isn’t about life and death, it’s more important than that.
But what if you are in a life and death situation, as chaplains can be on a regular basis? How do you measure your performance there? It’s natural for employers to want to see that they are getting the best from their staff and we are no different in that regard. But how we prove our effectiveness as chaplains has never really been addressed. I’m not keen to go down the numbers route too far, as that doesn’t reflect the kind of work that I do. I can spend five minutes with one person and have the same effectiveness as an hour with another.
The current financial climate has certainly helped to hasten the drive to describe what we do as chaplains and be pro active about it. That’s because without that description we will be hard pressed to make a case for our service.
Since counting visits isn’t the best measure of what we do we will have to focus on the outcome of those visits. What difference did we make to the person that we spoke to? Work is underway to try and record and articulate this so that our role is more readily understood. One thing is clear and that is that things won’t be quite the same again, but it needn’t be a cause for alarm. If we engage with the quality agenda and its focus on person centred care and our first steps in research bear fruit then the future may be different but it will also be bright. Which is more than can be said for one of two football teams limbering up right now.
Derek Brown
President of SACH
Extract from Minute of SACH Executive meeting
held on Thursday 24th June Scottish Churches House, Dunblane
Matters Arising:
Networking Facility
Jim Simpson had asked Fred Coutts to publicise the online facility. This has been done but as yet it has not been widely used. Members are encouraged to make use of this networking facility to discuss issues and share experiences.
Click “Forum” on the SACH website or www.sach.org.uk/phpBB/phpBB3/
Next AGM
Ewan Kelly confirmed agreement that the next AGM can be held during the Chaplaincy conference at Carberry in February 2011.
Committee Reports
Spiritual Care Development Committee
1. New liturgy book – awaiting copyright
2. Measuring spiritual care – can chaplains modify document used by medics to measure care
3. Shetland – Sheila Mitchell to go to Shetland for 3 months to spearhead work there and establish a chaplaincy base within the Board. Hopefully Band 7 to be appointed in due course.
4. Role of SCDC and relation to government under discussion
5. Much good work done by Ewan Kelly over the past year
6. Success in Glasgow University degree course but difficulty of graduates in chaplaincy being recruited under budget restrictions
7. Conference in Perth in May highlighted the great amount of good work being done in spiritual care across Scotland
UK Board of Healthcare Chaplaincy
1. Distribution of CPD points to be clarified by the Board soon. This follows uncertainty in filling in annual performance sheets
2. In England there has been a restructuring of committees. The Board also has a link to the DoH. This should aid future dialogue with the Multi-faith Group
3. Assessors – cannot be provided through Board. Ongoing discussion. Assessors would need to be trained. Perhaps a role in SACH for this. All 4 countries in GB need to agree standards and training required.
4. Board membership – requires lay members in order to be professional. Under discussion
5. Code of Conduct – latest draft approved, incorporates N Ireland issues but no great changes.
6. ‘In good standing’ - clarification still required – some rewording done but no real change in meaning. Type of accountability still being discussed – 2-way process where chaplaincy informs theology of institutional church and vice versa
Journal
Following a request by the Editorial Board it was agreed that a separate bank account be set up for journal expenses.
Treasurer’s Report
The Treasurer reported the general fund stands at £3831.02 and the training fund at £3727.31 following transfer of the £10 levy for training given by 79 members. These funds now stand at a comparable level to this time last year.
Programme Director’s Report
Conference in February 2011
(i) hope to come to consensus on statement re our unique role
(ii) also come to consensus on ways of doing reflective practice (in view of forthcoming registration)
Role of chaplaincy – Ewan highlighted possibility of job cuts – this linked to the uniqueness of our role and how we must prove the need for chaplaincy. There followed discussion re the above with several points raised:
1. pressure on lead chaplains to cut budget can distance them from their team
2. many part time chaplains seem disinterested in the wider picture - need to decide whether better to concentrate on substantive posts of 2 days a week or more – also find out why there is disinterest
3. importance of keeping less substantive posts in order to have full rota for on call
4. Expectation of management on lead chaplains leaves little time for patient contact - recruitment of volunteers may help but this may mean chaplains’ jobs taken over – a cheap option now seen in other disciplines eg midwifery but very stressful for the lead nurses who cannot have good patient contact – suggestion that this may be a problem only for leads – ordinary chaplains content with work at the bedside – if skills of whole team used this will relieve pressure on leads
5. Easier to employ a Band 5 chaplain than Band 6 as most coming into chaplaincy will be Band 5 – this will relieve budgets
6. Need to beware of issues seemingly expensive reaching media eg new DVD or new book of liturgy.
Balance of audit, research and reflective practice
Is it the right balance?
Using the language of healthcare - chaplains in healthcare still embody what healthcare is all about – other disciplines can be jealous of the time we have to do our job – important to hold on to this by using the language of healthcare – e.g. Quality Strategy talks of ‘efficient, effective, timely’ etc – we need to use this language while not losing the essence of our own – ie we need to be bilingual.
Scratchings from the Programme Director
I wonder if you know the feeling of realising that the job you entered into has evolved into something quite different after a period of time. This can be both challenging and stimulating! I recently had the very welcome opportunity of sharing with the SACH Executive what I felt some of the priorities were for my job now I’ve been in post for 15 months. Together we had a really helpful discussion which I greatly appreciated on what the role of the Programme Director may be, the role of NES (NHS Education for Scotland who employ me) as well as the role of SACH in the field of spiritual care and healthcare chaplaincy development and support. I wanted to share some of my reflections on what I believe my role should be currently focussed on (the current financial situation and new government policies as well as listening to chaplains and other colleagues in healthcare have helped shaped this).
Strategic Alignment of spiritual care with key government policies and initiatives
High Level educational/relationship building role – marketing and raising profile of chaplaincy and spiritual care with government officials and healthcare strategists
Developing a Communication Strategy for Chaplaincy to aid above –aligning (hopefully) with work done by you in local boards, hospital, hospice and community contexts
Developing Culture of Reflective Practice - by scoping, consultation and collaboration to build up:
- Group reflective practice – consistency of approach and activity across Scotland
- Supervision
- Audit
- Research – evidence base crucia
Developing CPD – including movement from conference based to mix with local contextual learning
Clarifying the unique role of chaplaincy in healthcare by consensus
Developing collective and individual leadership – sharing strategic decision making and involvement in key healthcare initiatives by lead chaplains.
Developing new models of chaplaincy – shifting balance of care
Facilitating development of bilingual chaplains – speaking the language of theology/faith/belief and ‘NHS speak’
Succession planning
Movement to regulation and registration – work with UKBHC
Please do give me your thoughts and feedback on these reflections – my role is continuing to evolve as yours will be. This is what keeps our jobs interesting and is very much what being involved in 21st century healthcare means!
Every good wish
Ewan
Ewan Kelly
Programme Director
for Healthcare Chaplaincy and Spiritual Care,
NHS Education for Scotland,
5th Floor, Thistle House,
91, Haymarket Terrace
Edinburgh
EH12 5HE
Scottish Churches Committee on Healthcare Chaplaincy
members meet with Nicola Sturgeon
Representatives of the "Dunblane " Committee met with the Cabinet Secretary for Health & Wellbeing on19th May 2010 to discuss issues in Alcohol Misuse and how chaplains and spiritual care givers are already involved in providing care. Both parties recognised that alcohol misuse was one of the biggest issues facing the NHS in Scotland which also affected crime and the economy. The detrimental effects on health of alcohol misuse were more to difficult to point out than say smoking. Although many considered themselves moderate drinkers they are unaware of the damage they were causing to themselves. The Government is trying to change attitudes - encouraging people to be responsible – and raise awareness – change the culture!
Committee members stressed that chaplains felt underused at times and were offering themselves as a resource – how can the uptake be increased? Education seemed the answer, so that it’s not just intervention in times of crisis, important though that it was – change the culture!
They also highlighted that staff support was often a primary role for many chaplains – chaplaincy is relational and the key is working relationships.
Ewan Kelly had been able to attend and it was agreed that he would assist the Committee in following up points raised during the meeting with the Head of the Government's Alcohol Licensing Team.
John Thomson
Secretary, Scottish Churches Committee on Healthcare Chaplaincy
Nursing & Health Care
Postgraduate Certificate in Healthcare Chapaincy
Congratulations to the first 8 students who have now completed the PG Certificate in Healthcare Chaplaincy programme. Students now have the opportunity to accept their certificate or proceed to Diploma/MSc.
Additional funding has been identified to part fund a second intake of students and applications should be submitted to the programme leader by 7th August for consideration of funding. The three course programme costs £1350 (£450 per course) and it is anticipated that the NES funding will pay half. The course will normally be studied over one or two years depending on the time commitment of the student.
Application forms and referees forms can be downloaded from the postgraduate pages of the University’s website www.gla.ac.uk or are available by e-mail from the programme leader:
David Mitchell david.mitchell@clinmed.gla.ac.uk
The course evaluated very positively in its first year, however, there were significant challenges for the students as there were no examples to follow and everything was new and being completed for the first time. 2010 students will benefit from studying a revised programme with examples of good practice to guide them.
Rev. David Mitchell
Programme Leader
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Send news, articles, pictures, stories and ideas s soon as possible to:
Rev Fred Coutts
Chaplains’ Office
Aberdeen Royal Infirmary
Foresterhill
Aberdeen
AB25 2ZN
Tel: 01224 553166
E-mail: Fred.Coutts@sach.org.uk