Focus on Spiritual care at Hospice |
| Sunday, 22 February 2009 |
 The Hospice has recently appointed Spiritual Care Co-ordinator the Reverend Carol Page to its team. The Hospice website team have interviewed Carol to find out how she will be supporting patients and her colleagues.
What is Spiritual care?
Spiritual Care is about helping people to make sense of what is
happening in their lives. For some, that may involve providing for their religious needs be it prayer, Holy Communion, Sacrament of the Sick or access to religious texts. For others it may be having someone with whom to explore the feelings of anger, fear, anxiety and loneliness which often accompany having a terminal illness or caring for a relative who is dying.
Spiritual Care is about sharing a part of the journey with them.
What kind of work will you be doing during your time at the Hospice?
I will be visiting patients and relatives in the Hospice’s inpatient unit, the day care service and hopefully also visiting patients in their own homes. I will be providing religious resources for staff as well as patients. I will also be delivering training for staff in spiritual healthcare issues.
What extra benefits will you be able to give to our patients and their families?
Staff and volunteers already provide good spiritual care.
However, there are times when patients and their families
want to take a conversation deeper than the staff member may feel comfortable with, or is able to go. Having someone who is trained and experienced in caring for people in complex and emotionally distressing circumstances can often be invaluable.
I also have the contacts and resources to develop links in the
local faith communities to ensure that the spiritual and religious
needs of people of all faiths and of those with no specific faith
are met.
What excites you about the post?
Being able to spend quality time with patients and their families
in a well-supported and caring environment, and the prospect
of providing training for staff which is on-going and which
can, in an organisation of this size, really make a difference.
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