Spiritual, Pastoral and Religious Care

Respectful Listening

Being a patient or a family member or carer of a patient in hospital can trigger a range of thoughts, feelings, concerns, and experiences. You may find it helpful to talk to someone who can listen to you and offer non-clinical support while you are in hospital. Staff and volunteers may also find it helpful to talk to someone who can provide a confidential listening ear.

Spiritual, Pastoral and Religious Care Practitioners, also called Chaplains, can spend time listening to you and help you to reflect on personal matters or difficult decisions. Subject to your consent they can help raise awareness with the staff involved in your care, of your religious beliefs, life values, decisions, and needs so that you are respected and cared for in a way that is right for you personally. This may include concerns about medications, treatment, diet, ablutions, prayer, and other religious rites or observations. If something is important to you, which affects your care and stay in hospital we want to know.

The chaplaincy team has an inclusive, respectful, and accepting approach and support is available to everyone without discrimination regardless of any personal identity or characteristic. This includes but is not exclusive to age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, maternal status, ethnicity or diversity of religion, belief and non-belief. Chaplains come from a range of faith and belief backgrounds. They will not impose their beliefs on anyone, and you do not have to be religious to receive their support.

We welcome faith and belief representatives and leaders into the hospital to support patients, relatives and staff. If you have a priest, minister, pastor, imam, or other person from your own faith or belief community who can provide care for you in hospital, they are very welcome.

Religious Support       

Chaplains provide or facilitate religious rites and rituals including prayer appropriate to each person’s beliefs and situation. They can contact representatives for a range of faith and belief groups who may be able to provide religious care for people while in hospital. The department has a range of religious resources which help to support faith needs. 

Sanctuary                                             

The Sanctuary can be found at Gate 30 on Level 1 of the Brunel Building at Southmead Hospital. Everyone is welcome! The Sanctuary offers a place for quiet, reflection, meditation, prayer, and worship. It is for people of any or no faith. It is a space open for patients, their family and carers, visitors, staff and volunteers to come at any time. 

There is a larger sanctuary and a smaller sanctuary. Both spaces may be used so if one is in use, please feel free to use the alternative space. Both sanctuaries are multi-faith spaces so please respect others who may follow a different path to your own. We do not ask for silence but please be sensitive to others who share this space. 

Please feel free to write prayer requests in the prayer book in the Sanctuary or on the notice board outside Gate 30.