Commenting on the Health Minister’s statement on Spiritual care in the NHS in Wales, Shadow Health Minister Andrew RT Davies AM said:
“I welcome the fact that Minister is addressing this issue. It is vitally important that patients and their families have the comfort of knowing that their spiritual needs can be met during a hospital stay as well as their medical needs.
“We must not lose sight of the fact that that any stay in hospital can be an extremely anxious time and some patients rely on spiritual relief during such difficult times.
“Local health boards also have a role to play in providing adequate training for staff to ensure they are able to respect individual needs when addressing patients’ and staffs’ spiritual needs.”
Shadow Minister for Local Government and Chair of the Assembly’s Cross Party Group on Faith, Darren Millar AM, added:
“It is crucial that there is a whole person approach to NHS care in Wales and the spiritual needs of patients cannot be ignored.
“We need to pay tribute to the excellent network of Hospital Chaplains and volunteers across the country for the work that they do to support the NHS in delivering this important aspect of care and help to promote their work in the future.
“I welcome the reference to the spiritual support provided by NHS staff and trust that this recognition will put an end to employees being suspended for offering to pray for patients in their care.”
