Chaplaincy and Spiritual Care

Spiritual care seeks to respond to the needs of who we are as human beings. We all have spiritual needs and sometimes - especially in a context of injury, illness or loss - our spiritual needs can become troubling or even painfully acute.

Patients and Family Members

What kind of need might be helped by talking about them with a member of the Spiritual Care Team?

• Anxiety about a diagnosis, lack of progress, or some other ‘bad news’
• Contemplating important decisions or choices about treatment and care
• Uncertainty about the future
• Trying to adjust to change
• Experiencing the grief of bereavement or loss
• Loneliness
• Hopelessness
• Aimlessness or sense of loss of purpose
• The thought of being separated from loved ones and familiar surroundings
• The need to express feelings such as anger, fear or regret
• The need to celebrate, with someone who is understanding, the things that give you  joy and hope in life such as family, friendships, faith, hobbies, pets - whatever is most important to you as a person

Members of the Healthcare Chaplaincy and Spiritual Care Team are available to provide sensitive, non-judgemental and confidential spiritual care. They offer person-centred support - which may be religious or non-religious, pastoral accompanying or simply listening - whatever your own faith, beliefs, background or lifestyle.

If you have a faith leader or church minister you would like to visit you while you are in hospital, feel free to invite them or to ask a member of staff to do so on your behalf.

The Balfour Sanctuary 

The hospital has a wheelchair accessible Sanctuary.  It is available twenty- four hours a day and is provided for patients, visitors and staff who seek a quiet, safe space to think, reflect or seek a sense of peace. 

A selection of holy books and secular literature is available, as are prayer mats and other items that individuals with religious devotional needs may find useful.

The Sanctuary is located in the main hub of The Balfour. 

Staff Support

The Spiritual Care Team offers staff support too. We provide training on the nature and principles of Spiritual Care as part of NHS Scotland’s increasingly person-centred culture. We can help staff better understand how to use and make referrals to the Spiritual Care Team as part of the healthcare team. And we are available for staff members who require understanding, non-judgemental and confidential listening support for themselves.

How Do I Contact The Spiritual Care Team?

The Chaplain and Spiritual Care Team can be contacted in the following ways:

• Internally:           Please ask a member of ward staff to make contact on your behalf
• Telephone:         01856 888 184
• Email:                 ork.chaplaincy@nhs.scot

Useful links:

• What does Spiritual Support mean to you?
• Spiritual Care Matters
• A Multi-Faith Resource for Healthcare Staff