Chaplaincy | Celebrating BWC Spirit

By Paul Nash, Chaplaincy Manager and Spiritual Care Lead, Chaplaincy  

What was your experience of the pandemic? 

There was a very mixed experience within our team during Covid-19. Some were allowed into our sites, some had to shield and the volunteers are still not allowed in. The team have been an inspiration to each other. These are some of our team's very honest reflections.  

“Incredibly difficult time, not only worrying about my loved ones but my colleagues, and myself because I was classed as high risk after working through its peak”.  

“It heightened my anxiety so much and the uncertainty was so difficult to grasp, especially with hearing of so many people passing away. I’m used to dealing with loss on a weekly basis but knowing how loved ones were passing away without anyone by their sides worried me so much, I really struggled to comprehend it”. 

“A large number of my family work in the health service so we supported one another in that arena with mutual understanding, several were working on COVID ICUs and under huge pressure. Supporting healthcare staff became a priority in work and through other organisations I am part of outside work”. 

“At the start, I was afraid, overwhelmed and confused with the number of changes which were taking place”. 

“Chaplaincy has evolved during the pandemic, especially in regards to physical contact. I have had to look at alternative ways to comfort families whilst maintaining social distancing. This has been particularly difficult when it comes to end of life.  As a team, we have had a range of ideas on how resources may fill that gap. We have had limited contact with different family members as only one parent is allowed at the bedside, this has been challenging for families. We have not been able to directly communicate with siblings, which has been unfortunate”. 

“The pain of seeing parents unable to be together to support their child. Seeing much fewer people in the hospital. Not being able to “wander with intent”. A rise in the need for staff support. My own loss of not seeing family”. 

What was the hardest part? 

“Some of the team will tell you that not being able to come in the early days was very hard and this still applies to our volunteers.  It is the very nature of chaplaincy to run towards trouble, Covid-19 restrictions meant we were not allowed to do this for much of the time”. 

“For members of our wider hospital staff dying of COVID-19, this has been heartbreaking.  Doing our best to support everyone, but not feeling it is enough due to the restrictions”.  

“Not being able to visit wards without a referral”.  

“Not seeing family and friends face-to-face. Lack of ability to visit on wards as usual. Initially, the Chaplaincy presence was hugely minimised and it was possible that I may not have been able to be on-site at all”. 

“Losing a much-loved colleague and Hosting the live service for his funeral. A colleague whom I knew and had worked with it was one of the most emotionally difficult things I’ve ever had to do in the history of my career. Let's just say there were an incredible amount of tears on that day.” 

“Not seeing family and friends, not being able to socialise and recharge the batteries.  I am a traveller, so not being able to travel and not knowing when the borders would open again was such a torment”. 

“I have not enjoyed not being allowed to come in and do my visits”.  

“Not being allowed to go away on holiday, Costa del Brum just does not cut it sometimes when you love the sea”. 

“I cried when I was told I was not allowed into the hospital and when I thought I might have given COVID-19 to someone else. I cried again when I was tested and realised I had not”. 

“Trying to comfort someone with resources and using body language and words, whilst not being able to give them a hug or put an arm around the shoulder. Not being able to support the entire family and only meeting extended family when the patient’s situation deteriorated to end of life. It has been harder to not hug colleagues in the same office or team when they have had a close bereavement, loss or illness to someone close to them. It has also meant meeting some of our team members after weeks or months in some cases”. 

“Seeing families struggle because they can’t all visit the hospital”.  

“Not being allowed to carry on our visiting to Parkview”. 

“Not seeing family. Not having the volunteers in the hospital which made it harder for the paid staff”. 

How did you cope? 

“Everybody understands the restrictions and we keep in touch with each other on a regular basis. We have a daily Zoom huddle which is open to all team members and have regular Zoom catch up with our volunteers who are not allowed in”.  

“Having lockdown projects, the much-neglected garden last summer and decorating inside last winter, 18 different colour pots of paint!! My partner now thinks I spend more money at Toolstation than on them!” ( other supplies are available) 

“My faith was a great source of strength. My husband (GP) was very supportive. As a Chaplaincy team, we were there for one another as well as patients, families and staff, listening, encouraging, providing safe off-loading space and working as a team. Daily huddles online kept people connected and informed”. 

“Struggled incredibly due to the trauma endured and not having my husband by my side through a most difficult time because of covid restrictions. My team’s support meant the world to me as we work in bereavement and loss almost daily. My colleagues from the bereavement team assisted me where she could and my chaplaincy team. If I didn’t have their compassionate support and care coming back to work as a chaplain would have been extremely difficult”.   

“Listening to loud music and walks in the park”.   

“Speaking about these sad situations with other colleagues and offloading with them”.  

“Looking at different ways we could support our patients and families with additional resources, designing some specifically for siblings”. 

“I took time to be quiet with running and long walks and opportunities to talk to others about my experiences”. 

What did you learn? 

“I learned that in unpredictable and challenging situations there is still a sense of undergirding hope which is part of the human spirit and our inner spirituality. Also, I learned that really meaningful staff support can take place online and by telephone under such circumstances, although face-to-face is preferable”. 

“How strong I am as a person to endure my biggest fear of baby loss after having supported 100s if not more cases over the several years working as a chaplain at BWC and still be able to do the work I do to such a high calibre of supporting others through baby loss and cases very similar to my own. I am so proud that I can turn my painful and traumatic experience around to serve even better as a chaplain who first hand now understands a baby loss experience”.  

“We learnt that some of the changes we made have improved our service. For instance, we had to do our Memorial picnic at the National Memorial Arboretum as a drop-in for the whole day rather than a gathering for a few hours. This meant we had more opportunity for quality time to spend with our bereaved families”. 

“Remembering to be kind to myself and others and that we were all in it together”. 

“We have been inspired to do more Digital Chaplaincy,  our chaplaincy avatars are fun!! 

“Chaplaincy has been adaptable, and we’ve looked for solutions when we needed them. We have found digital ways of communication that may be more accessible to larger groups of people”. 

“That we are supported by God through each other”. 

How do you think it changed the team? 

“Brought us all closer as one way or another we had all lost something or someone through the pandemic. Some of us lost our health due to contracting COVID-19, some lost a close family member and then there was me who had her own loss. We all shared the pain and grief and promoted self-care and how important it was to look after each other and ourselves during this difficult time. To give ourselves the love and compassion we give to others”. 

“The team became more creative in the way we provide care to patients, families and staff. The hope, thank you and virtual hug stones and cards have been very appreciated”. 

“Our team has a large number of hugely valued volunteers. They are missed and have struggled themselves in their lack of ability to come to the hospital and contribute. They have had some support meetings with Emmanuel who is the Volunteer lead Chaplain and contributed from home practically where possible. 

“As Chaplains who have continued to do face-to-face work I think we have deepened our appreciation of one another and team. There has been much loss to deal with for everyone – patients, families, staff and each person individually.” 

“The restrictions of lockdown have been in many ways a catalyst for creativity for example: producing Christmas and Easter celebrations and resources online; providing appropriate online bereavement support and our annual Memorial Service online; adapting our Memorial picnic in September;  making and giving gifts to staff of other faiths when their festivals occur e.g. Eid (Muslims), Vesak (Buddhists); Vaisakhi (Hindus and Sikhs) etc.; designing and producing sibling activity  packs for the siblings of patients unable to visit adding a card saying how much we are thinking of them too, and cards for the siblings and patients to exchange with each other; we also designed cards to send with our bereavement letter to siblings to acknowledge their loss and our care for them too; sharpening up our presentation of the department on the website by some promotional and creative filming”. 

“We were already very supportive of each other: I think this has been heightened through the pandemic”. 

“Due to the pandemic, we haven’t been able to work closely in person, but have worked together as a team through Zoom etc. It has also meant that the tasks are shared among the team and we still cooperate as a team to get tasks done. It has also had an impact on the social aspect of working in a team due to limited numbers allowed in each office”. 

Beyond your team, who has inspired you during the pandemic? 

“Those who have not been able to come into work in BWCH, full respect to them, cannot imagine how hard that has been”. 

“Those who have come in to work knowing the risks to themselves and their families. Those who did a lot of Mutual aid to UHB”. 

“Every single staff member who has worked through COVID and had to make so many sacrifices for the greater good and every woman that has walked through the hospital doors facing the constant changes, the unknowns and not being able to have the usual support one would have and all the partners that have had to patiently endure all the changes and miss out on key experiences due to the early covid restrictions”. 

“Within BC, the palliative and bereavement team, especially Helen Queen, Tamsin Butt and Donna. The staff on Oncology/haematology and Day Care in the way they have consistently cared for children and families through these very challenging days of the pandemic”. 

“The ED & PICU teams with whom it is a pleasure to work”.