About Us
Chaplaincy is for all
Chaplaincy support is available for every patient, parent or
carer during their time at the Children's Hopital. It doesn't
matter if you are particularly religious or not, we will respect
your faith tradition and offer compassionate listening and a
friendly face. We're an NHS team, but we're not a medically
trained team, and therefore some parents find it helpful to speak
to us as we're not inovlved with the clinical care of their
child. We hear every day how tough hospitalisation is on the
entire family and we are of course happy to pray for you and your
child, but that is entirely up to you.
Our experienced Chaplaincy team at the Children's Hospital is
drawn from different faiths and traditions. During your time here
you may well see Neill (Church of England), Ahsan (Muslim), Becky
(Church of England), Denis (Roman Catholic) or Rob
(Pentecostal). It's easy to meet up, just ask a member of
staff to contact Chaplaincy or use the information on our contact
page.
We also have a team of chaplaincy volunteers that visits wards
on Monday and Thursday - you might see them in their green
t-shirsts and purple lanyards. They are there to listen, to pray if
asked, and to connect you to another member of the team should you
wish
Religious care
There are of course times when a family would like specific
religious care, such as prayers, a baptism, or a visit from a
particular faith community. We have Christian & Muslim members
of staff who can assist you and your child with such care or we can
arrange for a leader of your own faith community to visit you in
hospital.
The Children's Hospital Sanctuary (E405)
On the fourth floor of the Children's Hospital, next-door to
Lighthouse Ward, you can find The Sanctuary. This is a quite and
peaceful place, open 24 hours a day, and available to people of all
faiths and none. You are always welcome. Many parents use The
Sanctuary as a place to pray regularly during their stay or as a
space to sit quietly while thier child is in surgery. Holy
writings from a number of faiths are there for you to use and
Muslim prayer mats are available. There is a folder for prayer
requests where you can write a personal prayer which will also be
prayed by the Chaplaincy team regularly and also two prayer trees
where you can attach the name of a child who is particularly on
your heart.
The BRI Sanctuary (B402)
A short walk from the Children's Hospital, in the BRI Sanctuary
in the King Edward Building (B402), there is a Christian service of
Holy Communion or Daily Prayer on Thursdays at 12.30pm and every
Friday our Muslim community hold Jum'a Prayers at the appropriate
time. Each Tuesday at 4pm there is an AA 'One day at a
time' open meeting to which all are welcome.
Contact us
You can ask a staff member to contact the Chaplaincy and we'll
be there to support you as soon as a team member is available. You
can call us directly on 0117 342 6799, or you can e-mail us
at Chaplaincy@UHBW.nhs.uk.
