Hospitals are appealing for people to join its chaplaincy service and help deliver ‘spiritual healthcare’ to patients.

Volunteers from all religious backgrounds are being sought to help at Bradford Royal Infirmary and St Luke’s Hospital, run by Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

Assistant chief nurse Shelley Bailey said: “The Foundation Trust employs seven chaplains from a variety of religions including Christian, Sikh, Hindu, Roman Catholic and Muslim faiths.

“In addition, volunteers from a whole raft of religious traditions within our community help support the chaplains by bringing their own expertise into an area which strives to reflect the truly diverse and multicultural nature of the people we serve.

“Currently we have more than 60 volunteer chaplaincy visitors, working at BRI and St Luke’s, and we are always on the look-out for more volunteers to join the team and help put something back into their local hospitals.”

Chaplaincy volunteer visitors meet patients, carers and staff across the Foundation Trust, offering support and a listening ear. They generally commit to visiting patients about once a week and can be a believer of a particular religion or have no religious belief at all.

Head of chaplaincy and Muslim chaplain and hospital imam Mohammed Arshad said: “Our volunteer visitors do an amazing job and being a volunteer is an opportunity to really touch people’s lives.

“After thorough training, each volunteer supplements the work of the chaplains by taking on a particular responsibility for a specific ward and by spending two to three hours once a week chatting with, listening to and supporting patients, relatives and staff.”

A two-and-a-half day training course for volunteer visitors, run by the hospital chaplains, will begin in October.

The course is designed to equip and prepare volunteers.

Anyone interested should contact Dawn Arnison on (01274) 365819 or e-mail dawn.arnison@bthft.nhs.uk.

Case study

Jennifer House (pictured) has been an Anglican chaplaincy visitor with Bradford Teaching Hospitals for 24 years.

She said the service had developed greatly since she started volunteering in 1989 and now had visitors representing all cultures throughout the district.

The 69-year-old, of Idle, said: “Under the guidance of the chaplains, the primary aim of volunteer visitors is to provide a listening ear and spiritual support if that is the wish of the patient.

“We also work alongside relatives and staff, to listen to whatever they may wish to speak about, be it worries about their illness, their families, their current situation or their faith and religion.

“Conversations I’ve had range from politics and religion, to the weather and even football! I believe all people have spiritual needs even if they are of no faith.

“I find visiting patients every week extremely rewarding and fulfilling and I hope to continue my work to support the chaplains for many more years to come.”