ENHCC

MAJOR ISSUES
FROM EACH COUNTRY OR ASSOCIATION
[Presented at the start of the consultation on Thursday 13 June 2002]

Austria

• Registration of chaplains - training implications and developing standards.

Bulgaria

The need to clarify:

• the legal rights of patients

• teaching programmes for priests and hospital staff about pastoral care

Denmark

• co-operation with Muslim Imams

• development of prayer and spirituality

Estonia

• Clarification of the official status of pastoral care-givers

• who pays?

Finland

• preparation of Ethical Guidelines for chaplains

• legislation concerning the rights of patients (data protection)

• Are chaplains outsiders or insiders in hospitals?

France

• Development of programme of standards for all chaplains

• Encouraging reflective practice and quality issues

Germany

• How to provide pastoral care for patients who are now being quickly discharged from hospital

• Caring for staff is very important

• making existing Standards "official"

• Money is an issue with the churches

Greece

• New Synodical Committee for Pastoral Care and Hospital Chaplaincy

• Motivate and train new priests to work in hospitals

• Integrate pastoral care into structure of hospitals

Hungary

• Training for both new and existing chaplains
  (only 2/16 are trained)

Ireland

• Recognise chaplaincy as a profession in the health service which requires qualifications. One way to ensure this is to be employed by health services

• Multi-cultural issues (Muslims are the fastest growing religious group in Ireland)

• Caring for patients in a growing secular society

Iceland

• 15 full time chaplains in Iceland

• all trained abroad

Italy

• The need to recognise non-ordained people as hospital chaplains

• Formation should become mandatory for chaplains

Latvia

• No professional training available for chaplains yet

• The need to co-ordinate health care chaplaincy work done by various denominations

• Need to present need for and standards of chaplaincy to government agencies

Lithuania

• Just one chaplain in Lithuania

• No training available

• growth of numbers attending Eucharist in hospital (60 every day, 150 Sundays)

Netherlands

• New Standards about to be discussed by the Association (V.G.V.Z.)

• How to implement registration

• How to integrate Imams into registration system

Norway

• Tension between integrity as pastors and integration into hospitals

• New legislation to protect patient rights (Chaplains are included not as a health care profession but as a service which the hospitals must provide to meet the needs and rights of patients.)

Romania

Orthodox

• Need for improved communication between state and church

• Need to convince hospital directors of the need for spiritual care

Reformed

• Need for co-operation with other reformed churches

• Training for volunteers

• Standards as a useful tool

Russia

• Help caring professions to understand the needs of the whole person - body, mind and spirit

• Need to protect the dignity of patients from the over zealous clinicians or quasi-religious groups and individuals

Sweden

• New course in CPE to replace what has been in place for 20 years

• Relationship of hospital chaplains with extra-mural health care services and parishes - who cares for patients at home?

• Dialogue with Muslims

• Integration of Roman Catholic and Orthodox with Lutheran and Free Church chaplaincy

Switzerland

• Development of more precise instruments to measure performance of chaplaincy

• Ecumenical working of chaplaincy

• Data protection issues

Ukraine

• No system for chaplaincy within the church

• No specialised training in pastoral health care in seminaries

• State does not recognise chaplaincy

UK - Scotland

• Recently devolved Scottish Parliament has prepared new Guidelines on Spiritual Care to be discussed by all Health Boards.

• Full time Training & Development Officer and Policy Development Officer paid by state

• Develop standards, registration, education and supervision for chaplains.

UK - England and Wales

• Professional registration of chaplains with associated codes of conduct

• Multi-faith issues important

Ecumenical Patriarchate of the Orthodox Church

• To consolidate the work already being done in the area of pastoral health care, a systematic account, both on a theological (theoretical) and practical level.

• To build better bridges with other faiths and organisations (e.g. a dialogue just started between Islam and Orthodox about psychological/social issues (health care)

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1. Registration of chaplains

• Clarification of the official status of pastoral care-givers.
• Are chaplains outsiders or insiders in hospitals?
• Need to convince hospital directors of the need for spiritual care.

2. Training implications

• What kind of training is necessary for chaplains?
• Teaching programmes for pastors and health care staff about pastoral care.
• More higher education and research needed.
• Motivate and train new priests to work in hospitals.
• Access to training.
• Development of supervision.
• Formation should become mandatory for chaplains.

3. Developing standards.

• Encouraging reflective practice and quality issues.
• Development of more precise instruments to measure performance of chaplaincy.

4. Multi-cultural issues

• Co-operation with Muslim Imams.
• Caring for patients in a growing secular society.
• The need to co-ordinate health care chaplaincy work done by various denominations.

5. The legal rights of patients (data protection)

• Need to protect the dignity of patients from the over zealous clinicians or quasi-religious groups and individuals.

6. Development of prayer and spirituality

7. Who employs and pays the chaplains?

• church, state or hospital?

8. Preparation of Ethical Guidelines for chaplains.

9. How to provide pastoral care for patients
    who are now being quickly discharged from hospital

10. Caring for staff is very important

11. Integrate pastoral care into structure of hospitals
12. The need to recognise non-ordained people
      as hospital chaplains

13. Use and training of volunteers

14. Help caring professions to understand the needs
       of the whole person - body mind and spirit

15. Relationship of hospital chaplains with
      extra-mural health care services and parishes

• who cares for patients at home?

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