Primary Care Chaplaincy in Bethnal Green
What is Primary Care Chaplaincy?
Have you experienced grief or loss?
Do you feel the lack of something you used to enjoy or hoped for?
Do you carry shame or guilt?
Have you lost a role or do you struggle to find your place in the world?
Do you need to find forgiveness? Or do you want to forgive someone else?
Would you like to find meaning and purpose in life?
Would you like to find hope? Do you find it hard to be hopeful?
Would you like someone to really listen to you?
If so…one of our chaplains are here to give you time, space and attention in a busy world to help you to move towards a place where you can start to live life to the full
What is a Primary Care Chaplain?
Chaplains in a GP practice are “generalists” which means they are supporting everyone’s spiritual needs. For some people this will be about religion, for many people it won’t be. Spirituality is about what brings us meaning, purpose and hope. Chaplains are active members or leaders of a local faith community, have training and experience in pastoral (listening) care and are trained and regulated by the Association of Chaplaincy in General Practice (hyperlinked). They are not providing religious instruction and are not counsellors. They provide the support that each individual needs and are patient led in their approach.
What do Primary Care Chaplains do?
Once you have been referred, you will be allocated to one of our team. It is important that you let us know if you would prefer to speak to a male or female chaplain, if you require a Bengali speaking chaplain (currently we only offer this service in English and Bengali:standard and Sylheti). The chaplain will call you and arrange an appointment either in one of the GP practices, at home or in a neutral location, according to your preference. Chaplains will see patients once or multiple times, usually for about an hour. They may invite you to a group where you can connect with others who may be going through similar issues in life. They will often, as time goes on, help you to connect into groups in your community that can help meet your spiritual needs, which includes you having the opportunity to give something back, if you are able.
We accept referrals from anyone 18 or over who is a patient at:
- The Mission Practice
- Sutton’s Wharf Health Centre
- Bethnal Green Health Centre
- Strout’s Place Medical Centre
Fill in this form (which should take less than 3 minutes) and one of our chaplains will be in touch to arrange an appointment. If you are unable to use the online form, speak to your practice directly who can do it with you. You do not need to disclose any personal information until you speak to the chaplain, but any information you give will help our team to find the right chaplain for your needs.
Quotes from patients who have worked one of our chaplains
“I thought I’d give it a go, I wanted to talk about my feelings with someone I didn’t know.”
“I felt at ease with her”
“With a GP you only have a few minutes, with (the chaplain) you have an hour slot.”