Spiritual Care Co-ordinator and Chaplain

Job responsibilities

OVERALL PURPOSE:

1. To ensure that the spiritual needs of patients, visitors and staff are addressed effectively to the highest standard of care.

2. To work alongside the IPU Operational Manager to oversee the provision of spiritual care and participate in appropriate service developments and research projects.

3. To actively contribute to the holistic care of patients across the family of services that makes up Trinity.ie. The In Patient Unit (IPU), Living Well Service (LWS - outpatient), Brian House Childrens Hospice and the Linden Centre.

4. To work co-operatively with key partners including Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, Clinical Commissioning Groups across the Fylde Coast and other faith groups and their leaders.

Main Duties of Post:

5. To be a core member of the specialist palliative care team for the organisation including the multi-disciplinary teams (MDT) of both the IPU and Brian House, providing and overseeing the provision of spiritual care for patients, families, staff and volunteers where appropriate, with particular focus on adult and childrens services.

6. To be a recognisable and visible presence on the IPU, available to all who may be in need of support.

7. To provide an informed ethical, theological, spiritual and pastoral resource to staff and volunteers as appropriate.

8. Facilitate the provision of appropriate, inclusive worship and religious expression on a regular basis and during particular seasons (ie. Christmas, Easter, Armistice Day etc.)

9. To ensure the Hospice Chaplaincy service meets the Standards for Hospice and Palliative Care Chaplaincy in line with the UKBHC and AHPCC

10. Along with the Chaplaincy at Blackpool Teaching Hospitals, develop a network of faith leaders to support the work of the spiritual care co-ordinator and the wider mission of the hospice to enable compassion care at the end of life.

11. To develop the role of chaplaincy volunteers to work alongside the paid staff.

12. To organise and lead monthly evening services of remembrance in co-operation with the In-Memory Coordinator and lead annual memory events alongside the wider Fundraising team.

13. To be a trainer and report writer to those sent on a period of placement; enabling them to have practical experience of Chaplaincy and appropriate mentoring to promote good theological reflection.

14. To be a core member and facilitator for Schwartz Rounds, including the steering group.

15. To be a key member of the Safeguarding Committee and present case studies on a rota basis.

Responsible For:

16. Day to day oversight of spiritual care of patients, family, staff, and volunteers on the IPU, LWS and Brian House, regardless of faith or life stance.

17. Giving appropriate, effective and safe advice to health and social care professionals, as part of multi-disciplinary team, on how to manage complex spiritual care needs for patients or those important to them.

18. Working with the Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust Chaplaincy Department, chaplaincy volunteers and the clinical team, to implement a coherent approach to the delivery of spiritual care across the whole family of services within the organisation.

19. To partner with the wider clinical team including counsellors within the Linden Centre and Clinical Psychologists and the LWS to support emotional and psychological issues, providing appropriate cross over as well as being able to articulate the distinctive position Spiritual Care holds.

20. To deliver a range of scheduled teaching and training, as appropriate, to all levels of staff including nursing staff, Palliative Medicine trainees, GP trainees, medical students, nursing students, other undergraduates, care home and nursing home staff.

21. Identifying appropriate services and spaces for reflection for patients, families and staff.

22. To facilitate the provision of appropriate worship and religious expression reflecting the faith groups represented by patients, carers, staff and volunteers and in response to specific need.

General Responsibilities:

23. To comply with all policies and procedures of the hospice in all areas, but especially around clinical and health and safety issues.

24. To raise concerns around any aspect of hospice activity with an appropriate member of staff as per Trinitys policies and procedures. To promote at all times the hospice philosophy and uphold the Trinity core values:

C aring

A daptable

R esponsible

E xcellence

S ocially engaged.

25. To be a co-operative and supportive member of the Trinity staff team, ensuring that all members are aware of any issues in the post holders workload, which may affect other members of the Trinity team.

26. Provide additional support as needed to students on placement with, and visitors to, the organisation whilst on the hospice site.

Professional Function:

27. To maintain training and knowledge about safeguarding issues for children and adults, including mandatory Safeguarding training required by any external stakeholder (ie. the relevant Diocese for Anglican chaplains) and to support other staff in acting appropriate if safeguarding issues are raised.

28. To ensure all spiritual care activity undertaken by the clinical team is appropriate and evidence based, and within the competence of the staff performing it.

29. To comply with AHPPC and UKBHC guidance and standards for the Hospice and Palliative Care Chaplaincy. To alert the IPU Operational Manager if you have concerns that those standards are not being met, regardless of the reason for this.

30. To participate in annual appraisal and continuing ministerial development.

31. To participate in some form of relevant reflective practice such as Clinical Supervision or Spiritual Direction on a regular basis as part of building resilience.

Management:

32. To manage and prioritise time effectively to ensure the appropriate care and support is delivered in a timely manner.

33. To keep ongoing record of all training and teaching as well as all training courses attended.

34. To introduce new models/ideas to improve the chaplaincy service.

This job description is not exhaustive and is subject to review in conjunction with the post holder and according to future changes/developments in the service.

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

Essential

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Excellent listening skills.
• Able to prioritise workload and be self-directed.
• Ability to establish and nurture key relationships within the organisation and the community.
• Punctual and reliable.
• Skilled in managing change.
• Support the values of Trinity Hospice and Palliative Care Services.
• Able to problem solve.
• Professional appearance.

Qualifications

Essential

• Recognised leader in current good standing within community.
• Ordained, or equivalent

Desirable

• Theological qualification to Degree level.
• Postgraduate qualification relevant to post, such as MA in Pastoral Studies etc.
• Counselling or specific pastoral care qualification.
• Teaching qualification

Experience

Essential

• A minimum of three years recognised pastoral ministry within faith community/chaplaincy
• Experience of teaching and training.
• Excellent presentation skills.
• Evidence of continuing ministerial (professional) development.
• Adaptable with a flexible approach to delivering care.
• Experience of working in a multi-disciplinary team or collaborative ministry team

Desirable

• Evidence of understanding the principles of audit.
• Evidence of academic research and publications.
• Experience of working in a specialist palliative care service or health care setting.
• Experience of working in a healthcare setting in any kind of caring role such as chaplain, nurse etc

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).