"My Religion"

When I first came to St Andrew’s Healthcare they had no Chaplain for members of my religious denomination. I really wanted to see a Chaplain from my own faith and asked the chaplaincy service to help, but they were not successful. I then contacted Advocacy to ask for them to support chaplaincy with my request; however it was still not able to happen. I spoke with my social worker at the time and explained that I really wanted to see a Chaplain from my religion since I arrived here. They agreed with me that it was important and acceptable for this to happen. They were leaving the charity but made it clear to me that they would make it their mission to sort this before they left. Thankfully they did and a few weeks later my ward OT received a phone call from a member of the chaplaincy team who explained they had found a Chaplain from my faith and had arranged for them to come and meet with me that evening, although I was not happy as I was not asked if this was ok before the arrangements were made. On this occasion I was so relieved that they had found someone that I didn’t mind. I am so grateful for the support and help from my social worker at the time and the chaplaincy team finally recognising how important this was to me.

I feel that when new patients are coming to St Andrew’s it is important to know their religious views if they have any and whether the hospital can support their religion. If they can’t then I think that it should be dealt with before they arrive.