Father Nicholas Kofi Addison, chaplain at the Sisters Hospitallers’ Hospital St. Francis Xavier, in Foso (Ghana) discusses various aspects of pastoral care in the African nation.
The evolution of healthcare over time reveals a current trend in hospitals to meet new standardisation expectations regarding the service provided. Also, this trend encompasses all aspects of healthcare, including chaplaincy and pastoral care, which must be adapted to the demands of a postmodern society (Margaret J. Orton, 2008).
Therefore, in this process of change within the healthcare sector, chaplaincy plays an essential role of spiritual support, understood as a facet of holistic care. As such, it is undergoing a renewal in which, for example, patients of other religious denominations are also taken into account (ibidem).
This modernisation affects the concept of pastoral care globally, since it is an element typically present in many hospitals worldwide. It seems important to clarify the role that this pastoral aspect of healthcare plays in society and its impact on people in hospital.
To ensure this article’s accuracy and realism, its content is based on the presence of the Sisters Hospitallers in Ghana. Specifically, the Congregation runs hospitals and outpatient clinics in Dompoase and Foso that offer general medicine, mental health support, and maternity services. However, given the broad focus of the article, it can be extrapolated to the overall context of pastoral care in Ghana.
The role of the chaplain in pastoral care
Broadly speaking, most religious hospitals in Ghana have a full-time or part-time chaplain on duty, depending on the size of the facility and the demand for this service. In order to fulfil the role, chaplains must be trained in theology, health or social sciences, or other related disciplines. They must also be registered with the Ghana Psychology Council.
Pastoral care in a hospital can be summarised by a passage from Matthew 25:31-46, which identifies the universal human tendency to be kind to the vulnerable and explains that the poor and the needy are deserving of the best we have to offer.
With regard to the chaplain’s practical involvement in pastoral care, his mission is to offer spiritual care, guidance, and advice to patients, their families, and hospital staff. Some common tasks of the hospital chaplain include: a) delivering daily mass for the Sisters, staff, patients and their relatives; b) managing the pastoral care team; c) managing the educational institutions’ recreational team; d) visiting patients regularly to provide support; e) offering pre-marital counselling to staff; f) serving as intermediaries with pastors and ecclesiastical groups to visit patients of other denominations; g) organising training for staff members in pastoral care and other related topics.
Furthermore, this role is a response to the demand for holistic care at religious hospitals, which includes commitment to the patients and pastoral support. This is reflected in Luke 19:10, in which Jesus says, ‘For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.’ In this passage, Jesus is actively trying to intervene in the lives of those who are in a precarious situation.
The social demand for pastoral care
The different aspects included in pastoral care and, specifically, in the role of the hospital chaplain, that stem from the needs and demands of today’s society. As mentioned previously, this facet of healthcare is in a constant state of renewal and adaptation to the context of modern society.
In this respect, there are three main circumstances in which patients and their families resort to the help of the hospital chaplain.
The first includes the patient’s basic needs and requests for material aid, such as food, clothing, hygiene, or money for hospital bills. The second entails emotional management, meaning, the chaplain provides support and guidance to cope with the spectrum of emotions a patient may feel, such as hopelessness, fatigue, sadness, anger, melancholy, or guilt. The third refers to the physical and emotional wellbeing of the patient. In this context, for example, a patient may turn to the chaplain when death is imminent, when there is no family support, when they are about to undergo surgery, or when they want to be discharged against medical advice.
The importance of pastoral care in healthcare
In general, pastoral care is a fundamental element in a hospital’s commitment to provide holistic care to patients and the nearby vicinity, since it addresses the particular needs of the person, regardless of their creed or background.
Therefore, we can conclude that pastoral care addresses the current and ongoing need for hospitals to tend not only to the physical wellbeing of patients, but to their spiritual needs as well for a sustainable conversion of the soul.