Band 6 Chaplain - Salisbury & Bristol Bath, England
Job description
Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust is seeking to recruit a Mental Health Chaplaincy Practitioner to join our experienced and dynamic spiritual care team. We are looking for a highly motivated and committed individual who can provide excellent spiritual care and support to our service users, their families, carers and staff members.
Successful candidates will join our ecumenical, multi-faith team of Chaplains assisting in the delivery of appropriate and sensitive spiritual, pastoral and religious care within a variety of Mental Health settings. The provision of care is offered equally to patients, staff and visitors, for those of any particular faith/belief and those who do not identify with any.
Candidates are required to have a firm standing within their faith community with an ability, where required, to facilitate religious rites and sacraments. Candidates are also required to have a demonstrated track record of proficient pastoral care.
The successful candidate will work either between Salisbury and Devizes, or Bath and Swindon(please specify in your application which area).
It is expected that the appointed Chaplains work occasionally across all hospital sites as well as providing emergency services as required by the Lead Chaplain.
The following job duties and responsibilities do not provide a full summary of the Chaplain’s role. He or she will be expected to be innovative, bringing his or her special skills and abilities into the team of which he or she will be an integral part.
Key Responsibilities:
- Providing spiritual care and support to individuals in mental health settings, including inpatient wards, community settings, and specialist services.
- Providing support and guidance to staff members and families, as required.
- Building positive relationships with key stakeholders and healthcare professionals.
- Working collaboratively with other members of the spiritual care team to deliver high-quality, person-centered care.
- Supporting the spiritual and religious needs of patients, regardless of their faith or belief.
- Experience working in a chaplaincy or pastoral care role.
- A recognised qualification in chaplaincy or pastoral care.
- Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
- An ability to work effectively in a multidisciplinary team.
- A commitment to providing high-quality, person-centered care.
- A strong understanding of the importance of spirituality and faith in mental health care
We welcome applications from all sections of the community and are committed to promoting equality and diversity in our services.
AWP (Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust) is a diverse organisation with over 5,000 dedicated staff providing inpatient and community-based mental health care.
We provide services from a range of locations to approximately 1.8 million people living in Bath and North East Somerset (B&NES), Bristol, North Somerset, South Gloucestershire, Swindon, across the county of Wiltshire and in parts of Dorset.
Our outstanding people promote mental health and wellbeing. The expertise and resources within AWP are dedicated to a person-centred approach for those who use our services and for all employees. We recognise that happy and fulfilled employees give better care.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities:
- To work effectively (and often independently) in situations in which people are experiencing challenging and debilitating mental andemotional distress
- The Chaplain will, where possible, respond to emergency call outs as soon as is possible and will negotiate this with the Lead Chaplain or a member of the ward staff
- To offer prayers, lead religious ceremonies and significant rituals in accordance with their own faith-tradition
- To work under the authority of the Lead Chaplain according to the NHS Chaplaincy guidelines
- To liaise with the other Chaplains and relevant healthcare staff so that spiritual assessment and support form part of the continuum of care of patients and their carer’s and staff
- The Chaplain is invited to attend the Chaplaincy Team Meetings and has access to supervision from the relevant Chaplain
- To ensure supplies for his/her own religious services are available
- To provide information and teaching to AWP staff in relation to religion and spirituality own in order to increase understanding and support improved care
- To ensure that Trust records are updated with relevant information to enable staff to provide effective care
- To follow the instructions of staff leading teams and/or local policies and procedures to ensure their own personal safety and that of others on the unit
- The Trust and Department may call upon the Chaplain to act as a resource for local and national information relating to their faith community
