Chaplain

Job overview

As a Band 6 Chaplain, you will be part of the Chaplaincy and Spiritual Care Team, providing compassionate, person-centred spiritual, pastoral, religious, and emotional support to patients, relatives, carers, volunteers, and staff. Working within a multidisciplinary environment, you will contribute to the delivery of holistic care, ensuring that the spiritual and pastoral needs of people from all faiths, beliefs, and none are recognised and supported. You will provide timely chaplaincy support across a range of clinical areas, including acute wards, critical care, emergency departments, end-of-life care settings, and outpatient services. The role involves supporting individuals during times of illness, crisis, loss, bereavement, and major life transitions, while promoting dignity, inclusion, and wellbeing. The post holder will work collaboratively with healthcare professionals, faith community representatives, and external organisations to ensure high-quality spiritual care is delivered in accordance with Trust values and professional chaplaincy standards. You will also contribute to staff wellbeing initiatives, education and training programmes, service development, and quality improvement activities.

Main duties of the job

Provide spiritual, pastoral, and religious care to patients, families, carers, and staff. Support people of all faiths, beliefs, and none in a respectful and inclusive manner. Respond to urgent referrals, including end-of-life situations, critical illness, and bereavement. Facilitate prayer, worship, sacraments, blessings, and religious observances as appropriate. Support families during periods of distress, uncertainty, and grief. Work as an active member of multidisciplinary teams. Provide pastoral support and wellbeing interventions for staff. Contribute to safeguarding, dignity, equality, diversity, and inclusion initiatives. Maintain accurate records and comply with Trust policies and professional guidelines. Participate in the on-call chaplaincy rota where required. Support service development, audits, training, and quality improvement projects.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

To provide high-quality spiritual, pastoral, religious, and emotional care to patients, relatives, carers, volunteers, and staff of all faiths, beliefs, and none. The Chaplain contributes to holistic patient care, supporting wellbeing, dignity, compassion, and person-centred care within the healthcare environment.

Spiritual and Pastoral Care

Provide spiritual, religious, and pastoral support to patients and those important to them, irrespective of faith, belief, culture, or background. Offer compassionate listening and emotional support during times of illness, crisis, distress, loss, and bereavement. Respond promptly to urgent referrals, including end-of-life situations, critical care admissions, trauma incidents, and safeguarding concerns. Facilitate opportunities for reflection, hope, meaning, and resilience during periods of uncertainty and anxiety. Support patients in exploring spiritual and existential concerns arising from illness, treatment, disability, or life-changing diagnoses.

Religious Care

Provide faith-specific support, prayer, sacramental ministry, blessings, and religious rites as appropriate. Liaise with local faith leaders and community faith representatives to ensure patients can access support according to their beliefs and traditions. Facilitate worship services, religious observances, and faith celebrations within the hospital. Ensure patients' religious and cultural needs are recognised and respected within their care plans. Support staff in understanding the religious and cultural needs of patients.

Support to Families and Carers

Provide support to relatives and carers during periods of critical illness, uncertainty, and bereavement. Accompany families through difficult conversations and significant clinical events. Offer practical guidance and advocacy where appropriate. Support families following unexpected deaths, stillbirths, neonatal losses, and major incidents. Assist with arrangements relating to spiritual care, funerals, memorial services, and remembrance events.

End-of-Life and Bereavement Care

Provide specialist spiritual care and support to patients approaching the end of life and those close to them. Participate in end-of-life care planning and multidisciplinary discussions where appropriate. Facilitate religious rituals, prayers, blessings, and sacraments at the end of life. Support families during and after a patient's death. Contribute to bereavement services and memorial events.

Staff Support and Wellbeing

Provide confidential pastoral support to staff experiencing stress, moral distress, burnout, grief, or personal difficulties. Contribute to staff wellbeing initiatives and resilience programmes. Offer reflective practice sessions, Schwartz Rounds, and opportunities for staff reflection. Support staff following traumatic incidents, patient deaths, complaints, or major organisational events.

Multidisciplinary Working

Work collaboratively with healthcare professionals across all clinical areas. Participate in ward rounds, multidisciplinary team meetings, safeguarding discussions, and ethics consultations as required. Advocate for patients' spiritual and religious needs within care planning. Contribute to the development of holistic, patient-centred services.

Ethical and Values-Based Support

Support patients, families, and staff facing ethical dilemmas and complex decision-making. Assist with discussions relating to treatment choices, advance care planning, organ donation, and end-of-life decisions. Promote dignity, respect, compassion, and inclusion in all aspects of care.

Education and Training

Deliver teaching and training on spiritual care, cultural competence, bereavement support, and religious awareness. Support the induction and development of healthcare staff regarding spiritual care provision. Supervise chaplaincy volunteers, students, and trainees where appropriate. Contribute to service development, quality improvement projects, and audits.

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

Promote an inclusive chaplaincy service that serves people of all faiths, beliefs, and none. Foster positive relationships with diverse faith and belief communities. Ensure care is delivered in a culturally sensitive and non-discriminatory manner.

Governance and Professional Practice

Maintain accurate records in line with Trust policies and professional standards. Adhere to safeguarding, confidentiality, infection prevention, and information governance requirements. Participate in clinical supervision, continuing professional development, and appraisal processes. Contribute to audit, research, service evaluation, and quality improvement initiatives.

Key Skills and Attributes

Excellent communication and active listening skills. Empathy, compassion, and emotional resilience. Ability to work with people of all faiths and none. Experience supporting individuals facing illness, loss, trauma, and bereavement. Ability to work independently and within multidisciplinary teams. Strong organisational and time-management skills. Commitment to equality, diversity, and inclusion. Understanding of healthcare ethics and patient-centred care.

Applicant requirements

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.