You have neither God nor Love on your side
Health Direct paraphrases the Thompson Twins' song title as Labour's NHS closures and cutbacks policy reached new depths of despair with the announcement that the Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust is to sack it's team of six chaplains purely to save money.
Terminally-ill patients and bereaved relatives will be left without pastoral care if a struggling NHS trust presses ahead with plans to axe most of its chaplaincy service, the union Amicus said yesterday.
Six of seven chaplains are to be laid off under proposals by Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust to reduce a projected £30 million deficit. The plans would leave only one chaplain serving three hospitals.
Amicus, which represents the College of Health Care Chaplains, said it was the worst single example of cuts affecting spiritual services in at least seven other trusts across Britain.
Two Anglican chaplains, three Roman Catholics and another from the Free Church would be sacked from the Worcester and Kidderminster hospitals under the plan, leaving one based at Redditch.
The Rev Dr Chris Swift, president of the CHCC, said: "People in really tragic circumstances will find services very patchy or get no response at all."
The union, which yesterday met hospital officials to protest, said: "The sick and the dying are going to be denied spiritual, religious and pastoral solace. This is a cruel decision by the trust. We believe that such cutbacks are being replicated across the UK. Chaplains are a soft target."
Terminally-ill patients and bereaved relatives will be left without pastoral care if a struggling NHS trust presses ahead with plans to axe most of its chaplaincy service, the union Amicus said yesterday.
Six of seven chaplains are to be laid off under proposals by Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust to reduce a projected £30 million deficit. The plans would leave only one chaplain serving three hospitals.
Amicus, which represents the College of Health Care Chaplains, said it was the worst single example of cuts affecting spiritual services in at least seven other trusts across Britain.
Two Anglican chaplains, three Roman Catholics and another from the Free Church would be sacked from the Worcester and Kidderminster hospitals under the plan, leaving one based at Redditch.
The Rev Dr Chris Swift, president of the CHCC, said: "People in really tragic circumstances will find services very patchy or get no response at all."
The union, which yesterday met hospital officials to protest, said: "The sick and the dying are going to be denied spiritual, religious and pastoral solace. This is a cruel decision by the trust. We believe that such cutbacks are being replicated across the UK. Chaplains are a soft target."
posted by Wise Money at
7:19 AM
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