‘Spiritual care speaks a language of meaning and purpose’

PROFILE

“I had a sense that I wished to pursue a vocation in ministry from an early age, and at the age of 18 began my Bachelor of Divinity degree at the University of Edinburgh.”

The Rev Sheila Mitchell is talking about her years as a minister and her work in the NHS as Programme Director for Health and Social Care Chaplaincy and Spiritual Care.

“I was interested in chaplaincy work in general from a very early stage – I think because I could see the connection between theory, theology and practice very clearly. I pursued this area of work in my Masters degree which I completed again at Edinburgh University. During my time as a student, I spent time in general hospitals and in mental health units, and then during my time as a parish minister in South Lanarkshire in the 1990s, I worked as a part time chaplain in a hospital for people with mental health problems and/or learning disabilities. I come from a family in which there are a number of healthcare professionals, so the world of health was, to some extent, at least partly familiar. My work during the 90s was instrumental in shaping my passion for the area of mental health, and from 2002 I have worked full-time within the NHS and for the majority of my career, mainly within the areas of mental health, addictions and staff care.

“I was born in Edinburgh to Aberdonian parents, but the Isle of Arran – where I went to school – has been home and/or my place of ‘anchorage’ for the vast majority of my life. I have a deep love for the island; for the landscape, for the people there and for the way of life. The island continues to be a source of refuge, reinvigoration and inspiration, and its familiarity both a comfort and a challenge.

“My family has had long-standing connections with the Church of Scotland, both on Arran and elsewhere, but over the years I have had connections with the Methodist Church and with the Church of England as well. Sometimes more in retrospect than at the time, I suspect that these connections and experiences have formed part of a more rounded acceptance and understanding of the differing ways there are of expressing faith, and have brought a depth and breadth to my own beliefs and the way in which I see and try to understand the world.

I was interested in chaplaincy work in general from a very early stage – I think because I could see the connection between theory, theology and practice very clearly.

Photo: iStock

The philosophy of personcentred care and values underpin the role and work of chaplains, whose role it is to facilitate and/ or deliver religious and spiritual care to those within health and (increasingly) social care, and to the wider NHS organisation.

“I ffirmly believe that understanding is a key element in fostering tolerance and acceptance, and having had the opportunity to be a part of other traditions, together with learning about other faiths and belief systems, has been of huge value to me personally and professionally.

“Like Christianity with its wealth of literary traditions, I find other faiths also to be rich in stories, symbolism and parables. I think that stories and parables – by their very nature – can have much to teach us and much to communicate. Over the years, my colleagues from other faith traditions – some of whom have been fellow members of staff and some of whom have been faith or belief leaders – have encouraged in me, through conversation, action and by example, a wider and more inclusive perspective on life.

Working as part of the NHS was almost a natural progression career-wise when the opportunity came along.

“Health and social care chaplains have been direct employees of the NHS in Scotland since January 2007 when, backed by the General Assembly, the Church of Scotland chose to transfer the employment of chaplains to the NHS. Today, all chaplains are strongly encouraged to pursue registration with the UK Board of Healthcare Chaplains which, in 2017, gained accredited status with the national Professional Standards Association.

“The model of spiritual care provision within the NHS in Scotland is strictly non-denominational, with chaplains being employed on the basis of their knowledge, skfills, experience and formation, and not on the basis of their belief, life-stance, denomination, ordination-status or faith.

“For example, there are increasing numbers of people within the Allied Health Professions and in nursing within the NHS expressing an interest in changing direction and pursuing a career in spiritual care, as well as people from, amongst others, interfaith or humanist backgrounds. The mix of backgrounds, skfills, and experience that chaplains bring to the workplace, makes for an increasingly – and appropriately – diverse workforce. Work within spiritual care in the NHS is extremely rewarding and diverse, with chaplains working in areas such as specialist staff support, direct patient care, the care of families and relatives as well as in areas such as teaching and education, national and international research and evaluation and service development.

“The philosophy of person-centred care and values underpin the role and work of chaplains, whose role it is to facilitate and/ or deliver religious and spiritual care to those within health and (increasingly) social care, and to the wider NHS organisation.”

Some people might think that being a hospital chaplain might be a very sad job, as you work with people who tend to be going through an unfortunate or bad time in their life, but ministers and other faith professionals seem to feel that the privileges of the position outweigh the hardships involved says Sheila.

“Very often chaplains have the privilege of being with people at the very worst times in their lives – and sometimes at the very best. And of course, many occasions are inevitably bitter-sweet. Some of the most moving and rewarding things that stand out in my mfind have been arranging and conducting emergency weddings or blessings for couples, one of whom is terminally fill. So often everyone involved goes the extra mile to make sure that the occasion has as much dignity, sense of intimacy and even celebration that the circumstances wfill allow. Always moving occasions, I never cease to be amazed at the strength of the couples involved; at the powerful expression of their commitment to each other and of the enduring nature of love. In the midst of what is impossibly hard and poignant, people can stfill embody the very best of what it means to be human.”

But Sheila’s job includes some planning and strategic working as well.

“As Programme Director I manage the Person Centred Care Programme within NHS Education for Scotland (NES), one of NHS Scotland’s ‘special’, or non-territorial, health boards. NES supports the educational and training needs of the wider workforce within NHS Scotland, which includes work relating to the development of spiritual care as a healthcare profession. The Person Centred Care Programme portfolio is diverse, with other areas of the programme including work around Health and Social Care Integration, Palliative and End of Life Care, Feedback and Complaints, Volunteering, organisational Duty of Candour legislation and the Carers Act.

Very often chaplains have the privilege of being with people at the very worst times in their lives – and sometimes at the very best.

“The role of Programme Director for Health and Social Care Chaplaincy and Spiritual Care encompasses a number of areas of work, including after work the provision of a professional, advisory function to Scotland’s health boards and to the Scottish Government, workforce planning to support the recruitment and retention of chaplains, and representing the interests of Scottish chaplains on the UK Board of Healthcare Chaplains in London. Wider work includes supporting the development of both local and national policy, and developing strategy and governance in relation to service delivery within spiritual care.

“Our current work within NES includes the further development of an integrated, educational pathway for spiritual care, which includes training, the commissioning of educational programmes and the development of continuing professional development (CPD) opportunities for health and social care chaplains. NES also oversees a programme of reflective practice training called Values Based reflective Practice – developed by Spiritual Care and now used extensively in finderdisciplinary clinical and non-clinical contexts across the NHS – research into the outcomes of spiritual care interventions using a specially designed Patient Reported Outcome Measure and a joint programme of work in partnership with GP practices, chaplains and volunteers across the country, called Community Chaplaincy Listening (or ‘CCL’). CCL is an earlyintervention listening service for people within the community and is typically delivered over anything between one and four sessions. Based largely in GP practices, the patients who come to CCL come with a variety of different issues – but all of them with the desire to find the space and time to talk about what they’re going through or to explore what they’re feeling.

“Work within NES is hugely collaborative, and involves cross-directorate working, and work with Spiritual Care Leads and teams from across the country, as well as external stakeholders, consultants, findependent contractors, universities at home and abroad, researchers and teams.”

“Working as such an integral part of the NHS is incredibly important. It was recognised from the beginnings of the NHS that Chaplains and faith would have a part to play.

“Today the NHS recognises that people are more than a collection of disorders and ailments; they are more than a set of symptoms or problems waiting for a diagnosis or intervention. Today we recognise that there’s greater awareness of the links between such things as poverty, education, social isolation and health. The tragedy is that sometimes we have inequalities in health provision, access and uptake that limit or compromise people’s health and overall sense of wellbeing, but conversely our understanding of health and healing is increasingly holistic, where the growing importance of the interaction of body, mfind and spirit are both acknowledged and accepted – and surely this shift in understanding can only be positive and life-enhancing.

The Rev Sheila Mitchell

In my career to date, I have been proud to be a provider of care to others, but also a recipient of that care myself from stafff, many of whom, has a very strong sense of vocation and purpose.

“Spiritual care speaks a language of meaning and purpose, and the NHS in Scotland afffirms that things fundamental to human living – such as meaning and purpose, belonging and hope, ritual and remembrance, accompaniment and journeying, reflection and wonder, all have a place in modern healthcare provision.

“Increasingly, the NHS in Scotland is underpinned by a philosophy of personcentred care – an approach to delivering healthcare which is increasingly collaborative, inclusive and where the needs and ‘voice’ of the patient or client are considered to be central and pivotal in any decision-making process.

“This year, of course, the NHS in Scotland celebrates 70 years of delivering care to the people of Scotland. In my career to date, I have been proud to be a provider of care to others, but also a recipient of that care myself from staff, many of whom, have a very strong sense of vocation and purpose.

“Not without its laws, there is nevertheless much to celebrate about a national health service that (for some of us) has always been a feature of our lives and to which many of our family, friends and neighbours have devoted their working lives.”

After 22 years connected to the NHS working in hospitals and latterly for NHS Education for Scotland, Sheila wfill shortly be pursuing a very different role.

“I’m delighted to say that I’ve just accepted a call to a parish in rural Aberdeenshire.

I’m looking forward to the move very much, and to the many and varied opportunities that lie ahead. While there’s much that I’ll miss about the culture, work and colleagues within the NHS, I know there’s a huge amount to embrace in a forwardlooking, warm and welcoming congregation and parish.

“Whoever takes over from me wfill find the task not without its challenges, but immensely and richly rewarding. I’ve been blessed and extremely fortunate to have been a part of the story of the NHS.”

This article appears in the July 2018 Issue of Life and Work

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