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My work as a children's hospital chaplain


Sr Catherine Gilligan

Sr Catherine Gilligan

Marist Sister Catherine Gilligan, described her work as Roman Catholic Chaplain to Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital, in the folliowing talk wihich she gave at the launch of 'My Hospital Prayer Activities Book' at Vaughan House, Westminster on 19 November. The names of the two children described have been changed.

In 1852 Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) opened with just 10 beds, and was the first hospital in the UK to offer dedicated inpatient care to children. It was founded for poor children in chest conditions. Some of that original building still exists and is used presently for patient care. However, the hospital has developed over the years and we may thank Sir JM Barrie who gave all the rights of the play and novel Peter Pan to the hospital. GOSH in now an international hospital of Par Excellence and is well known for its pioneering surgery and treatments.

Chaplaincy and Spiritual Care team

GOSH has no Accident and Emergency ward so by the time a child comes to us they may have visited at least two other hospitals. When the parents reach GOSH they are very anxious but still have an element of great hope as they feel their child will get treatment and be OK. Unfortunately that is not always the case. As most of these children have complex medical needs and have life threatening and life shortening illnesses. However, no matter whether a patient or family belongs to a religious or faith community or not members of the chaplaincy and spiritual care team are there to help. We have a 24 hour seven day chaplain on call. The chaplaincy team is multi faith and each chaplain is firmly grounded in their own Churches or religious teaching. We are people of prayer and spirituality and pastoral care is what we offer.

As chaplains we pray every morning for all the intentions of the hospital. Prayers are read from an intercessory book daily they are simple but are profound in faith and hope.

Over 75% of patients are under the age of five. On average we have three to four deaths weekly. Many of these are neonatal and some of these would be 22 / 24 weeks gestation. Some of our time will be spent consoling the parents of these new born babies. We pray and bless children and when requested we baptize and in some cases we have a prayer services of naming. As a Roman Catholic chaplain I offer the family a baptismal candle and a rosary.

As a team we aim to be highly visible around the hospital. We all have allocated wards where we do generic chaplaincy and then we refer to the appropriate chaplain as necessary. We regularly attenda multidisciplinary team meeting and are frequently invited to attend case conferences regarding care for complex conditions. My generic ward is Neurosurgical and Cranial malformation. As Roman Catholic Chaplain I have the freedom to visit any ward or department.

The chaplains are well known and highly respected. We receive a lot of affirmation from many staff, parents and patients. We are frequently asked to be present when medical staff are giving parents bad news. One of the chaplains is always about when there is a question of withdrawal of treatment. Our presence is like standing at the foot of the cross. It is a matter of being present silently supporting and consoling.

Some of our work is listening to staff who work in very difficult and sometime hostile situations. Many children seen at the hospital have complex conditions and due to their complexity it can be daunting for medical and nursing staff alike. In order to explain what we do as chaplains I will share with you two scenarios. These are real stories but names are changed.

Luke

Luke is a three year-old child who attending his play school on a daily basis. He was full of life and good health. The family went to Spain on holiday and two days after arriving Luke was vomiting and unwell. After two day they took Luke to the local hospital. They received medication. Luke’s condition did not improve so the family decided to return home. On arriving at the airport Luke was feeling very unwell and at this stage he as rolling his eyes and fitting. He was taking to a local hospital but within a few hours he was transferred to GOSH. At GOSH a brain scan was performed which showed that He had a very large brain tumour and lots of swelling around the site.

The parents were deeply upset. However, they sought some comfort in prayer and asked for a blessing. I visited the family regular and prayed and listened to their story. Luke was admitted to Intensive Care. His recovery was very slow.

After three months at GOSH he was discharged to his local hospital where he continued with treatment. My intervention as chaplain for this family was daily prayer at the child’s bedside. Listening attentively to their story. Encouraging them to keep faith and hope alive and above all to pray for Luke’s full recovery. They placed a lot of confidence in me and were always happy to see me about. The parents were happy to receive Holy Communion as they felt it gave them spiritual comfort. They frequently came to the chapel where we prayed and lit a candle. The chapel is an oasis of peace from a very busy ward. I encouraged them to allow the grandparents to visit as they are normally a great support and give young couples strength at a difficult time. When they come to outpatients they always come along to the chapel for a prayer and are very happy to meet me.

John

John was 10 years old when I first got to know him. He had developed a chest infection which weakened his lungs. John had two older half sisters and a younger brother. His parent’s relationship was very fragile. Both parents placed a lot of trust and confidence in the chaplains. They regularly sought us to pray with them. They visited the chapel frequently and loved to meet us to light a candle. Dad visited the local Catholic Church for Mass. John was a beautiful child who had a serious and gregarious side. He was brought up as a Roman Catholic. Mum did not have any particular religion but she did pray daily. John had a successful lungs transplant. Over the next few years his parents separated. New partners came into their lives and life seemed to get more complicated. Every time he came to outpatients he liked to visit the chapel and was delighted to see the chaplains. In some sense we were stable people in John’s life. Unfortunately seven years later John rejected his lungs and once again was on a critical list. This period was a daunting time for his family as both parents had new partners and some of them had their own families. Life got very complicated but John was the one who united the whole family. After a second lung transplant and ten months of hospitalization he developed multiple organ failure.

Over this period I was very involved. Daily I spent time with the families praying, listening, and talking about some of the ethical problems but above all I encouraged them. They felt I gave them some hope and kept their faith alive. There were aspects of confidentiality and I became the advocate’s for John and his family. I attended numerous case conferences and I was the voice for his parents on his behalf. I arranged religious services at his bed time side which John appreciated. The school chaplain visited him monthly and once again prayer was essential. Over these months we also needed to support the staff as there was an emotional connection with John and the staff. Many famous footballers came to visit John, but I feel the person he certainly appreciated was the bishop who came to visit John after his brother’s confirmation. This was the highlight not just for John but for the staff also. He and his parents sought great strength in prayer and the presence of chaplains. He was very aware he was dying and died peacefully with both his parents at his bed side. John was able to articulate what he wanted for his final farewell. Indeed his funeral Mass was organized by John with some help from me. One month after John’s death we organized a memorial service in the chapel so that the hospital staff could say their farewells and this allowed them to express their emotions.

As chaplain I have arranged a few first Holy Communion services for children who I know will die and on three occasions I have arranged Confirmation.

As chaplains we are involved in bereavement teaching to new members of staff. We also have parents or relatives returning to speak in confidence after the death of a child.

I am also involved in End of Life issues and we support the palliative care team.

We support the Organ Transplant Group and I attend various meeting on this subject. We also attend any meetings for organ donations and assist in the spiritual and ethical decisions. We pray and encourage families to donate organs in order to give life to another person.

A member of the team is involved in research ethics.

We accommodate families who wish to have a funeral services for their child when they do not belong to a parish. On occasions we are asked to arrange a service for a family who may be taking the child’s remains abroad this gives the ward staff the opportunity of showing their respect and saying good bye. We also arrange memorial services for staff.

We have an annual memorial service for families on the last Saturday in April. This time of year was chosen as its spring and the birds are singing and new buds are appearing after the winter. In symbolizes the resurrection.

We frequently visit the mortuary and pray with grieving families. Once again we hold families in prayer with empty hands but our hearts are full of compassion and love for them. This is what the good news is about. God’s great love and mercy for each individual.

I arrange a rota for the Roman Catholic Priests for the sacramental ministry that I can’t administer.

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