Chaplain & Keyworker (Community and Acute)

Job summary

We hope to appoint a chaplain of any faith or belief to join our team. This post will have particular responsibility for supporting families of children who are palliative or who have been bereaved.

The post will be based in the SWFT chaplaincy team but will work closely with the community children's nursing team and will be part of their MDT. They will also work closely with the acute paediatric nursing team, based in the hospital.

They will provide holistic, emotional, pastoral, spiritual and sometimes religious care to families who are dealing with intense challenge and distress. They will help families to find meaning in what is happening for them and their children and ensure parents have a voice in decision-making about their child's care.

They will support staff who care for very sick and dying children, and provide training for bereavement support, compassionate conversations, and staff wellbeing. They will help staff in the identification of spiritual and religious need.

They will build links with local charities and with faith communities and will signpost families to relevant support. They will help families to make meaningful rituals before or after their child's death. They will support with funeral planning, and with memorials.

For children who die in the care of the CCNT, they will act as keyworker for the child death review process, whereby every child's death is reviewed.

As part of the chaplaincy team, they will take part in the out of hours on call rota Main duties of the job The team chaplain and keyworker is to work with the whole Chaplaincy Team and with other healthcare professionals in the delivery of holistic, pastoral, spiritual, emotional and religious care to families whose children are palliative or who have died, in the community and in the hospital.

About us

Come and join a Trust rated Outstanding by the CQC. South Warwickshire University NHS Foundation Trust have been rated as outstanding following our latest inspection by the CQC and we are recruiting new staff to come and help us improve even further.

In addition our staff survey results have placed us 4th in the country for recommended place to work. We provide services across Warwickshire and beyond ranging from Hospitals in Warwick, Stratford-Upon-Avon, Royal Leamington Spa and Shipston-on Stour to Community Services across the county.

We are a progressive, expanding organisation with great ambition around improving quality, integrating pathways and delivering high levels of productivity.Our values can be summed up in one sentence. We are 'Trusted to provide safe, inclusive, effective and compassionate care'.

Throughout the recruitment process you will be asked to think about how you demonstrate these values and how they impact on your work. It doesn't matter what role you do, whether it is patient facing or not, we are all working in the same way with our values at the core.

As part of our commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion we encourage all applicants to complete a short survey.

This can be accessed via the link below: https://forms.office.com/e/ahWY3eAGM2 We appreciate you completing the survey.

Job description

Job

responsibilities

Knowledge, Training and Expertise For children who die in the care of the Community Childrens Nursing Team, the postholder will act as keyworker for the child death review process, whereby every childs death is reviewed.

This aspect of the role requires the post holder to: o be a reliable and readily accessible point of contact for the family after their childs death, o help co-ordinate meetings between the family and professionals, o provide information on the child death review process and the course of any investigations pertaining to the child, including liaising with the coroners officer and any police family liaison officer; o represent the voice of the parents at professional meetings, ensure that their questions are effectively addressed, o provide feedback to the family afterwards o signpost to expert bereavement support if required.

With the whole chaplaincy team, act as keyworker when required in the event of a sudden unexpected death of an infant or child (SUDIC) Contribute to the development of spiritual healthcare in a multi-faith setting, being sensitive to and aware of the varying pastoral, spiritual and religious needs of diverse ethnic groups, and to assist staff on responding to their needs.

Assist and advise external partners, e.g. representatives of faith communities, in the pastoral care of their people while in the care of the Trust, and to receive information from them, always observing the rules of confidentiality by which every NHS employee is bound.

Adhere to the Code of Conduct for Healthcare Chaplains (2024) of the Council of Professional Chaplains & Pastoral Carers (formerly UKBHC) Communication Skills and Working Relationships Be an informed, visible, and active presence in the Trust; taking part in MDT meetings and ensuring that the pastoral, spiritual and religious needs of families and staff are met .

Communicate clearly and empathetically with, families, children and staff at all times. To use advanced communication skills and inter-personal skills to give and receive complex information often in sensitive or intense situations, e.g. following receipt of bad news or where there may be barriers to understanding or acceptance.

Work with the paediatric teams to offer support to parents and families experiencing childs illness and child loss at any age. Actively offer a ministry of encouragement to staff and offer time and space for supportive listening and counsel when sought.

Help families and staff articulate their pastoral, spiritual, emotional or religious needs and identify resources to address them. Analytical and Judgement Skills Contribute to the provision of training for bereavement support, compassionate conversations, and staff wellbeing.

Help staff in the identification of spiritual and religious need. Contribute to education programs within the Trust to enhance understanding of spiritual, cultural, and religious needs of patients and staff.

Provide support to members of multi-disciplinary teams engaged in pastoral and spiritual assessment or referral, to help this become a standard part of patient care. Planning and Organisational Skills Plan and organise own workload. Plan, organise and conduct childrens funerals, thanksgiving, memorial, and other services as required.

Freedom to Act Initiate and take responsibility for own work pattern within the parameters of national standards and Trust polices. Attend appropriate meetings related to work, both inside and outside the Trust. Be a part of the Chaplaincy response within the Trusts major incident plans and response.

Management Responsibility Supervise trainee chaplains and chaplaincy volunteers as required. Responsibility for Patient Care Provide specialised advice, and pastoral/spiritual/religious support.

Make provision for complex spiritual, pastoral or religious needs of families and staff.Help families or staff articulate their pastoral, spiritual and religious needs and identify resources to address them.

Be readily available and supportive to families, particularly those who are bereaved or struggling with diagnosis, and those who are close to the end of life, to ensure that sensitive, efficient, and appropriate pastoral or spiritual care is given at all times.

Respond to the practical and existential needs arising from the impact of illness, death and dying on individuals and families. To facilitate, when requested, visits to patients by their own faith leader.

Responsibility for Policy/Service Development Assist in providing a comprehensive spiritual, pastoral and religious care service to the Trust, including provision of spiritual healthcare information. Share responsibility for the implementation of policy and service development within Trust parameters.

Share in the implementation of pastoral, spiritual and religious healthcare polices. Contribute to the professional development of the chaplaincy team. Review own working practice in conjunction with line manager, and propose changes as appropriate.

Contribute to making the whole Trust a place of equality for people of all faiths, beliefs, spiritualities and none. Responsibility for Financial and Physical Resource Handle donations to chaplaincy from members of the public as needed, ensuring all correct procedures are followed.

Responsibility for Information Resources Maintain adequate notes of referrals and work done, on chaplaincy work record and, where appropriate, in-patient medical notes. Access Lorenzo, Badgernet, Digit and EPR for patient information.

Responsibility for Research and Development Undertake surveys and audits necessary for own work and for research and development purposes. Physical Skills/Physical Effort The post holder needs to be able to access wards, departments and peoples homes, and be at ease by a patients bedside. There is also a degree of computer and desk work.

Accompany relatives in viewing of deceased patients in the mortuary as required. Mental Effort The work pattern is unpredictable and there are frequent interruptions. The post holder needs to be able to prioritise, and re-prioritise at speed.

Emotional Effort The post holder needs to be able to handle highly distressing or emotional circumstances, e.g. in supporting families or staff following complex or terminal illness, bereavement, or sudden death of infants or children. The post holder needs to have a developed self-awareness and commitment to seeking help when needed.

The post holder needs to be able to respond and minister with integrity to people who hold a philosophy, belief or faith system different to their own. Engage in regular reflective practice. Maintain a strong patient and family focus throughout the course of the patients care in the Trust.

To participate in the emergency out of hours on call provision across the whole Trust.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential Bachelor's Degree (or equivalent work or life experience) with demonstrable learning in a relevant field such as counselling, pastoral care, psychology, psychotherapy, religious studies or theology. Endorsement to practice as a healthcare chaplain by a recognized/established sponsoring faith community or belief group.

Evidence of annual continued professional development relevant to healthcare chaplaincy to Council of Professional Chaplains & Pastoral Carers (formerly UKBHC) standards.

Desirable Post-graduate qualification (or equivalent life or work experience or working towards) with demonstrable outcomes of learning relevant to healthcare chaplaincy Registration, or ability to be registered with the UKBHC Qualification (or working towards) in pastoral supervision (such as those recommended by APSE), coaching, management or leadership Experience Essential At least 2 years full time experience, or equivalent, of working as a designated healthcare chaplain Desirable Experience of supervising volunteers Skills Essential Demonstrable knowledge of tenets of own faith/belief tradition Knowledge of and engagement with faith/belief traditions beyond own Evidence of proactive practice of CPD Knowledge of current research in healthcare chaplaincy Evidence of offering spiritual care beyond own faith/belief boundaries with evidence of commitment to an inclusive approach to chaplaincy Evidence of reflecting critically on the practice and experience of providing pastoral care, and on finding/searching for meaning through exploration of spiritual issues encountered in sickness, mental health, dying, death and bereavement Evidence of the ability to manage time prioritizing workload including a commitment to continuity of service provision Desirable Engagement with safeguarding, information governance, audit, service evaluation or research Training in research, audit and service evaluation Ability to deliver training