Shropshire County Primary Care NHS Trust -Press Release

Meeting Spiritual Needs at Shelton Hospital

Shelton Hospital has just converted a staff meeting room into a quiet area for patients to go to pray, reflect or meditate. The NHS Patients Charter states that all health services should make provision so that personal consideration is shown to patients, for example, by ensuring that privacy, dignity and religious and cultural beliefs are respected.

Up to now Shelton Hospital has only been able to offer prayer facilities for people following Christianity at its large Victorian Chapel. The new room contains six cupboards providing religious items enabling people from many faiths to pray. The religions catered for are Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism and Sikhism. The room also includes a small fountain and comfortable seats so that patients can find a quiet area if they want to have some time for reflection or meditation.

John Short, Director of Mental Health and Learning Disability Services, said that he was ‘really pleased that we are now able to offer prayer facilities for the major faiths now found in Shropshire. The current chapel is large and imposing and is not able to meet all patients’ needs for them to practise their religious beliefs. I hope that the new multi-faith room will meet these needs and also provide a quiet haven in the busy hospital’.

The work to provide the new multi-faith room was led by Sw Haywood and the Rev Mark Godson, the part-time chaplain at Shelton Hospital. The important work of hospital chaplains is recognised by the Department of Health and a recent report highlighted their role in supporting patients to have access to the many faith communities now found in Britain.
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For further information please contact:-

John Short, Director of Mental Health & Learning Disability Services Tel: 01743-492043 Shropshire County Primary Care Trust

Mark Godson, Hospital Chaplain Tel: 01743 492289
Shropshire County Primary Care Trust

A photo opportunity is available if you would like to see the room at Shelton Hospital.
For further information please contact Sw Haywood, CPA Lead Officer on 01743 492277