Page 24 - Contact Summer 2017
P. 24
PASTORAL CARE
IN HIGH KIRK
Over the past years, hospital authorities have When someone leaves the hospital, we are
made major changes to their level of contact given no details of any move to another
with patients’ churches. Contrary to what hospital or a care home - just told their name
many of you think, we are not given access to is no longer on the patient list – at times we’ve
a comprehensive list of Presbyterian patients even been wrongly informed that someone has
from which we can note any High Kirk names – been discharged! Care homes also have stricter
that was stopped over 20 years ago. This means policies regarding giving out any information
that we are dependent on the chaplains or the about their residents, so again we need to be
patient’s family informing us when one of our informed.
members is in hospital.
When someone is in hospital or seriously ill
Further changes in the chaplaincy department at home, or moved to a care home, the family
mean that that our Presbyterian chaplain in concerned are often so involved in the situation
Antrim is only allowed to visit certain wards. that they forget to contact the church office.
High Kirk members who are patients in other Why not offer to do so for them? Some people
wards may or may not be visited by another already do this and it is very much appreciated.
chaplain. So do not assume that we always
know of hospital admissions – in fact, more None of the above is intended as any criticism
often we don’t! of those who work in the health sector – they
do a great job! Today’s society requires a level
Members of the pastoral staff normally visit of personal privacy and data protection that
Antrim Area hospital once or twice a week and necessitates the withholding of information.
other hospitals as the need arises.
Unfortunately some High Kirk members have If you hear of someone being in hospital or
not been visited by us, either because we didn’t seriously ill at home, or moving from their own
know they were there, or by the time we heard, home on a temporary or permanent basis,
they had been discharged – increasingly please phone/email the church office or one of
hospital stays are becoming shorter. the pastoral team. Alternatively fill in an
Information Card at church – that’s more
reliable than verbal mention!
Please help us, and especially my successor, to
be more effective in our pastoral care.
Anne Taylor pastoral
‘LET US NOT LOVE WITH WORDS OR TONGUE
BUT WITH ACTIONS AND IN TRUTH.’
1 JOHN 3: 18
As a church family, we are called to show love
to one another in a practical way, and I want
to highlight a few ways in which we seek to do
this.
