Spiritual and Pastoral Care
The Spiritual and Pastoral Care Department is committed to caring for the spiritual, pastoral and religious needs of patients, staff, and relatives of all faiths (and of none).
Our team currently consists of a whole- time Hospital Chaplain, a whole-time Roman Catholic Chaplain, a part-time Rabbi and a team of volunteers on each of the sites. We hope to appoint a whole-time Assistant Chaplain in the near future. We are in the process of developing our multi-faith team so that patients and staff can access the kind of support that is appropriate to them. We have links with many faith leaders in the local community. These can be contacted through the hospital switchboard.
The spiritual and pastoral care team is able to provide support in the following areas of patient and staff care:
- Religious support
- End of life issues
- Facing distressing news
- Bereavement care
- Care of the dying and of their relatives
- The effects of sudden death
- Pastoral/spiritual care of palliative patients
- Ethical issues in patient care
- Understanding our own needs and 'triggers' in the workplace
- Supporting bereaved parents
Members of our team visit during the week. If you would like a Chaplain to visit please ask ward staff to pass on your request or contact us direct.
Here for staff
It is often thought that Chaplains are concerned only with religion, and particularly as it relates to the end of life. But that is only a part of our work. We provide pastoral care for staff and students and provide a friendly listening ear at times of stress
Patient care
Much of our work is that of listening to patients, allowing them to 'tell it like it is'. The task of a Chaplain is to 'be with and to be for' the patient. We neither moralise nor seek to convert.
We place a high value upon a person's individual experience and work mostly on a 'one-to-one' basis, in complete confidentiality and trust.
Our concern is for the emotional, spiritual and religious needs of patients. While it may appear that the work of the Chaplaincy is mainly religious, in practice it is often a person's spiritual and emotional needs that are paramount. One of our tasks is to enable a person to work through some of the issues which they face as a result of being in hospital. This is particularly true for long-term patients.
The Chaplaincy service is well placed to be able to provide highly skilled support for patients approaching death. This support is also extended to their relatives. Again the focus is upon a person's spiritual and emotional needs, of which specific religious requirements are an expression.
Whenever sudden death occurs, it is attended by a multiplicity of responses. Chaplains are involved in both A&E Departments providing support for relatives and for staff on such occasions. When a patient dies suddenly on a ward, a Chaplain is able to spend time with the relatives, while ward staff attend to the other needs which such a death causes.
We value being involved in multi-disciplinary teams in order that the inner needs, as well as the medical needs, of the individual are understood and attended.
We are also able to assist in the unravelling of difficult ethical issues which patient care presents. We may be used as sounding boards on such occasions, or as a non-medical 'voice' when caring for distressed relatives.
Please see the contact details on this page for details of how to reach us.
Services
Barnet and Chase Farm Hospitals each have a chapel, which is available to patients, relatives and staff of all faiths and those of no specific faith at all. The chapels offer a quite place for private and corporate prayer, or for personal reflection and sanctuary. The provision of services for each site is as follows:
Barnet Hospital
The Prayer Room is open 24/7.
The entrance is from the Atrium on level 0
Services
| Sunday | 3pm | Christian Service with Holy Communion |
|---|---|---|
| Thursday | 1.30pm | Roman Catholic Mass |
| Friday | Circa1pm (time varies with the seasons) | Muslim Juma Prayers |
Other services as publicised
Chase Farm Hospital
The Chapel at open during the day. If it is locked members of staff can borrow the key from the switchboard on production of their Trust ID badge. It is situated outside in between the Clock Tower and the Highlands wing.
Services
| Sunday | 11.15am | Christian Service with Holy Communion |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | 1.30pm | Roman Catholic Mass |
| Wednesday | 1pm | Christian Service with Holy Communion |
| Friday | Circa 1pm (time varies with the seasons) | Muslim Juma Prayers |
Other services as publicised
Contact details
Fr Tom Baron - Hospital Chaplain (CofE)
Fr Fred de l'Orme - Roman Catholic Chaplain
Rabbi Yisroel Fine - Jewish Chaplain
The on-call chaplains can be contacted 24/7 via the switchboard on 0845 111 4000.
For non urgent messages
Barnet tel: 020 8216 4355
Chase Farm tel: 020 8375 1078
