Team ChaplainNHS

Job summary

We are looking for an experienced chaplain of any faith tradition to join our team and to work with us in providing spiritual, pastoral and religious care to patients, relatives and staff. This post will be based in our acute team and will work across our three hospitals (Warwick, Stratford and Leamington Rehabilitation Hospital).

You will join a well-established, creative and committed team in a Trust which is very supportive of the chaplaincy service. The wider team includes over 40 very well trained, active chaplaincy volunteers and part of the role will be to provide training and supervision for them. There is some change ahead, with a new Lead Chaplain to be appointed within the next six months.

You will be expected to participate in our emergency out of hours on call provision, which also includes call-outs to the Myton Hospices at Coventry and Warwick. We anticipate this to require being on call one night a week and one weekend a month.

For an informal conversation or more information, please contact Rev Ricarda Witcombe, Lead Chaplain: [email protected]

Main duties of the job

The Team Chaplain is to work with the whole Chaplaincy team in the delivery of holistic, pastoral, spiritual and religious care to all patients, their relatives and staff.

Job description

Knowledge, Training and Expertise

Contribute to the development of spiritual healthcare in a multi-faith setting, being sensitive to and aware of the varying pastoral, spiritual and religious needs of diverse ethnic groups, and to assist staff on responding to their needs.

Assist and advise external partners, e.g. representatives of faith communities, in the pastoral care of their people while in hospital, and to receive information from them, always observing the rules of confidentiality by which every NHS employee is bound

Adhere to the Code of Professional Conduct (2024) of the Council for Professional Chaplains and Pastoral Carers (formerly UKBHC

Communication Skills and Working Relationships

Be an informed, visible, and active presence in the Trust, visiting wards or departments frequently; ensuring that the pastoral, spiritual and religious needs of patients, staff and relatives are met.

Communicate clearly and empathetically with patients, relatives and staff at all times.

Use advanced communication skills and inter-personal skills to give and receive complex information often in sensitive or intense situations, e.g. following receipt of bad news or where there may be barriers to understanding or acceptance

Work with the early pregnancy, maternity and neonatal teams to offer support to parents and families experiencing baby loss at any stage of gestation, or the care of extremely ill babies.

Actively offer a ministry of encouragement to staff and offer time and space for supportive listening and counsel when sought

Help patients, relatives and staff articulate their pastoral, spiritual or religious needs and identify resources to address them

Ensure that the prayer rooms, Chapel and Oasis are properly maintained and accessible to all.

Analytical and Judgement Skills

Contribute to education programs within the Trust to enhance understanding of spiritual, cultural, and religious needs of patients and staff

Provide support to members of multi-disciplinary teams engaged in pastoral and spiritual assessment or referral, to help this become a standard part of patient care

Planning and Organisational Skills

Plan and organise own workload

Ensure that suitable religious services, rites, and ceremonies are made available to all who require them, without discrimination and in consultation with ward staff and the patients religious community as appropriate.

Plan, organise and conduct adult contract funerals, baby funerals (at any stage of gestation) thanksgiving, memorial, and other services as required

Freedom to Act

Initiate and take responsibility for own work pattern within the parameters of national standards and Trust polices

Attend appropriate meetings related to work, both inside and outside the Trust

Be a part of the Chaplaincy response within the Trusts major incident plans and response.

Management Responsibility

Supervise trainee chaplains and chaplaincy volunteers as required

About us

Come and join a Trust rated Outstanding by the CQC. South Warwickshire University NHS Foundation Trust have been rated as outstanding following our latest inspection by the CQC and we are recruiting new staff to come and help us improve even further. In addition our staff survey results have placed us 4th in the country for recommended place to work.

We provide services across Warwickshire and beyond ranging from Hospitals in Warwick, Stratford-Upon-Avon, Royal Leamington Spa and Shipston-on Stour to Community Services across the county. We are a progressive, expanding organisation with great ambition around improving quality, integrating pathways and delivering high levels of productivity.Our values can be summed up in one sentence. We are 'Trusted to provide safe, inclusive, effective and compassionate care'. Throughout the recruitment process you will be asked to think about how you demonstrate these values and how they impact on your work. It doesn't matter what role you do, whether it is patient facing or not, we are all working in the same way with our values at the core.

As part of our commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion we encourage all applicants to complete a short survey. This can be accessed via the link below:

https://forms.office.com/e/ahWY3eAGM2

We appreciate you completing the survey.