Spiritual Care
Person centred spiritual care is part of the care offered by NHS Lothian. It recognises that our beliefs, values and understanding of life can help us cope at times of illness, change or loss.
Spiritual care seeks to help people find meaning, purpose and hope in the midst of illness or uncertainty; affirming that tears and laughter, pain and joy are all part of normal human experience. Talking to someone who is part of the wider hospital team but not involved directly in an individual’s clinical care, can help with feelings of anxiety and fear which may be experienced when coming into hospital.
Many people welcome spiritual care when they have a serious illness, or their health is changing. This is especially true when individuals are:
- looking for help to understand their illness or treatments
- coming to terms with an illness and searching for meaning
- dealing with feelings of anxiety, uncertainty or distress
- facing difficult questions about life, grief or other feelings about death
- caring for someone whose health is getting worse.
How to contact us
Any member of staff can contact an on-call chaplain for you via the hospital switchboard. If for any reason you need to contact a chaplain from outside the hospital, please call: –
- Royal Edinburgh Hospital: 0131 537 6516
- Royal Hospital for Children and Young People: 0131 312 0168
- Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh: 0131 242 1990
- St John’s Hospital, Livingston: 01506 522188
- Western General Hospital: 0131 537 1402
