Spiritual Care Practitioner / Chaplain

Princess Alice Hospice

This job is now closed

Job summary

We are looking for a Spiritual Care Practitioner to provide high-quality pastoral, spiritual and religious care to patients, carers, staff and volunteers.

This key role will play a significant part in enabling us to deliver our commitment to holistic, patient-centered care. You will manage a team of volunteers to ensure the provision of pastoral, spiritual and religious care to patients, their families and carers, and the wider community, and resource the multi-professional team to care for the spiritual needs of patients and their families and carers.

A Training role (Band 5) may also be considered for this vacancy.

Main duties of the job

Working collaboratively with the Supportive Care and Multi-Disciplinary Team, you will have an understanding of world faiths and other belief systems, particularly regarding customs and practices around illness, death and dying. You will demonstrate excellent interpersonal skills, have considerable pastoral experience and ideally some previous experience of Spiritual Care in a healthcare context.

A pleasant, calm manner aswell as excellent interpersonal and decision-making skills are essential for this role.

If you're a compassionate an empathetic person who shares our values, and are looking for a new role in a supportive and inclusive environment, we would love to hear from you!

About us

Princess Alice Hospice is one of the top ten adult hospices in the UK, providing specialist palliative care and support to a community of more than a million people living in Surrey, south west London and Middlesex.

Is care at your core? It is at ours. Palliative and end of life care is when true care matters most. At Princess Alice Hospice, you have the opportunity to make a satisfying, rewarding contribution for a great cause. Were a friendly team committed to making a difference to the lives of patients, family and friends at a challenging time.

Date posted

01 September 2023

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 6

Salary

Depending on experience Circa £37,000 (pro-rata if part time) depending on experience

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Full-time, Part-time, Flexible working

Reference number

B0024-23-0008

Job locations

West End Lane

Esher

Surrey

KT10 8NA

Job description

Job responsibilities

The Spiritual Care Practitioner will:

Work within the protocols and practices of Hospice and the Pastoral, Spiritual and Religious Care Team

Model good practice in pastoral, spiritual and religious care and resource the multi-professional team to support the spiritual needs of patients and their families and carers

Assess patients pastoral, spiritual and religious needs

Supervise and direct the work of Pastoral Support Volunteers

Lead occasions for remembrance for bereaved families and staff, online and face to face

Contribute to induction, education and training programmes

Key responsibilities

1. Provide good Pastoral, Spiritual and Religious Care to patients and their families and carers

1.1 Build effective working relationships with multi-professional colleagues to ensure smooth flow of communication about the spiritual needs of patients and families and carers.

1.2 Attend morning handover and MPT Ward Round, and monitor the Hospice electronic records to receive spiritual care referrals from multi-professional colleagues.

1.3 Using the Hospice spiritual assessment protocol, assess and address the pastoral, spiritual and religious needs of patients and their families and carers

1.4 Identify and seek to address complex spiritual and religious needs in pastoral encounters and where necessary refer to the Bereavement and Spiritual Care Lead

1.5 Record all interactions with patients and their families and carers in the Hospice electronic records, and maintain the PSRC Team minimum data set

1.6 Where appropriate, provide religious support for patients and their families and carers (prayer, Scripture reading, provision of religious texts, etc.)

1.7 Where appropriate, support patients faith representatives (clergy, etc.) to support patients pastoral, spiritual and religious needs

1.8 Build effective relationships with faith representatives (clergy, etc.)

1.9 Keep up to date with relevant chaplaincy/spiritual care research in order to ensure pastoral, spiritual and religious care is evidence-based

2. Supervise and direct the work of Pastoral Support Volunteers

2.1 Build effective working relationships with Pastoral Support Volunteers

2.2 Facilitate supervision sessions (one to one/group) and annual review

2.3 As necessary, recruit and train Pastoral Support Volunteers

3. General

3.1 Work with the Hospice Bereavement Service to arrange and lead occasions for remembrance for bereaved families and staff, online and face to face

3.2 Contribute to the Hospice Education Programme, including induction for paid staff and volunteers, as appropriate and as agreed with the Education Team

3.3 Contribute to service development and research

3.4 Work within the UKBHC Code of Conduct and demonstrate practice to Band 6 of the UKBHC Spiritual and Religious Care Capabilities and Competences for Healthcare Chaplains

3.5 Participate in regular supervision/reflective practice

3.6 Maintain own personal, spiritual practice

3.7 Act as an ambassador for the Princess Alice Hospice

3.8 Undertake any other duties or general tasks and hours of work, as may reasonably be required, and work in other locations within the Hospice organisation

A job description is not a rigid or inflexible document but acts to provide guidelines to the duties expected while in the post.

This job description will be reviewed and amended in the light of changing professional demands