Pastoral and Spiritual Care Practitioner / Chaplain (Mental Health)

Job description

Job responsibilities

My job makes better lives by providing excellent and efficacious spiritual, pastoral, and cultural care to meet the spiritual and religious needs of people who use our service, their families, and staff.

Job Overview

At SABP we value diversity of experience in our workforce.

Our current chaplaincy team is predominantly Christian, with some representation from the Muslim faith, and we are actively seeking to increase the diversity of our pastoral and spiritual care practitioners and chaplaincy team to better reflect the faith needs of the populations we serve and provide more inclusive services. We encourage applicants representing faith's differing from the ones mentioned above including but not limited to, Hinduism, Judaism, Sikhism, Buddhism, etc.

You must have experience working with people with mental health issues, be in good standing with your faith or religious community, and be registered or eligible for registration with the UK Board of Healthcare Chaplains. All personal statements should begin with three bullet points explaining your suitability for this post. Please note that applications that do not have these points will not be shortlisted for interview.

Key Responsibilities

The candidate will be required to:

Embody the visions and values of Surrey & Borders Partnership Foundation NHS Trust and contribute to the effective working of the pastoral and spiritual care team.

Adhere to SABP policies and procedures related to people using our services and contribute to the effective working of the Trust.

Utilise a range of specialist skills appropriate to the needs of people who use our service and the clinical setting where they must be seen and work autonomously.

Be prepared to work as a member of the Multidisciplinary team in assessing and planning care and responding to the spiritual needs of people who use our services.

Create, develop, and maintain professional, supportive relationships with all staff members, with other professionals and agencies to enhance recovery.

Contribute to the professional development of the department of Pastoral and Spiritual Care service.

Responsible for the full assessment of the Religious, Spiritual and Pastoral needs of users referred to the service.

Plan and lead services in own tradition and ecumenically at Silverwood (when completed) and Farnham Road Hospital.

Enable pastoral support for carers of people who use services as the interactions allow.

Act in a manner to respect the customs, individuality, values, sexuality, and spiritual beliefs, actively supporting the individual to fulfil these.

Provide spiritual needs assessment training to staff when required.

Pastoral visits to wards and respond to community and ward referrals as required.

Provide staff support when required.

Attend routine team meetings and supervision.

Perform responsibilities as directed by the Head of pastoral and Spiritual care.

JOB RESPONSIBILITIES

Contribute to the effective working of the department.

Maintain good communication and collaboration with all pastoral and spiritual care team members and follow established procedures and policies. Develop, implement, and evaluate evidence-based programmes of care; set standards of pastoral care and liaise with other agencies, particularly to people's spiritual needs. Contribute to caseload planning within the pastoral and spiritual care team. Contribute to operating a duty rota effectively, responding to urgent spiritual needs in crises, and participating in a Major Incident when called upon. To be involved in recruiting and training volunteers and lead projects and working groups as requested by the Head of Pastoral and Spiritual Care. Use specialised knowledge, experience and skills in direct clinical work and act as a resource for the ward teams for spiritual and cultural awareness, always encouraging service user participation.

Contribute to the professional development of the department:

The post holder will have to understand a spiritual care theory and practice. Participate in the reflective practice processes of the department, undertaking literature searches and critical reviews of research relevant to pastoral and spiritual care. When required, contribute to audits, service reviews, research projects and conferences.

Provide pastoral and spiritual care:

Participate in the Spiritual Needs Assessment of individuals with mental health problems or vulnerabilities, develop spiritual care plans, and keep written and electronic records. Evaluate referrals and determine a timely response that provides spiritual and pastoral care sensitive to those who use our service, their carers, staff, and students. Maintain effective and consistent links with and work collaboratively alongside other professionals.

Facilitate religious care:

Facilitate religious services, spiritual and prayer groups, or prayers appropriate to our hospitals. Make referrals to the relevant faith communities at the consent and request of the person using our service where the post holder or a pastoral care team member cannot undertake the religious requests. Make effective connections with parish priests, ministers of religion, religious leaders, and faith and non-belief organisations in the community. Assist the ward teams in preparing links to the faith community for the person on discharge.

Provide staff support:

Respond to staff spiritual needs, individual or collective, as desired, and can be arranged through an informal/impromptu chat at the workplace or through a self-referral appointment. When asked, provide confidential assistance to employees going through complicated processes. In addition, in partnership with the Spirituality and Faith Staff network, to lend a listening ear. Also, collaborate with other relevant departments to promote employee well-being.

Providing training and education:

You will contribute to and teach on the department's training and education programmes for staff and community faith leaders. You will also plan and initiate the delivery of other learning opportunities and supervise volunteers and pastoral care students as agreed with the Head of Pastoral and Spiritual Care

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• First-degree or equivalent professional qualifications
• Applicants must be in good standing with their relevant faith or belief community
• Be registered or eligible to hold the UK Board of Healthcare Chaplaincy (UKBHC) registration
• Must show proof of suitable pastoral and spiritual training

Desirable

• Possess a recognised qualification in counselling or psychotherapy or have completed specific training courses in relevant practice areas

Experience

Essential

• Experience working in Mental Health
• Experience working with different cultures/faith traditions
• Experience in building pastorally supportive relationships
• Experience working with volunteers
• You must have a UK driving license and access to a car for work purposes

Desirable

• Experience in working on projects with targeted outcomes, deadlines, and reporting processes

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.

UK Registration

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

Employer details

Employer name

Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Silverwood Hospital

Holloway Hill, Lyne

Chertsey

KT16 0AE

Employer's website

https://www.sabp.nhs.uk/working-for-us (Opens in a new tab)