How can our patients be encouraged towards better self-care and community support?
That means they need to think not just about faith and the power of prayer, but about whole-person health care … how healthy living and faith come together for themselves and for the people who live and work around them.
One recent development of this thinking is to encourage congregations to appoint a registered nurse with community experience to help them take care of their own health and participate in community health improvement initiatives.
These “Parish Nurses” are often Practice nurses, District nurses, or Health Visitors who work in the NHS but volunteer a few hours a week to promote whole-person health and self-care with and through their congregations.
Training and regional support are available through Parish Nursing Ministries UK.
What can a Parish Nurse do?
A Parish Nurse may work for any church part-time or full-time, on a paid or voluntary-with-expenses basis. S/he will be assisted by a team that may involve other health-care professionals. S/he will have access to professional and spiritual supervision.
Christians believe that God cares for everyone, whether or not they come to church, in a way that includes physical, mental, social and spiritual wellbeing.Quote from a GP
“Mrs H couldn’t understand her medication. She also needed to get out and meet people. The Parish Nurse spent two hours with her explaining how to use her “doset” box, then introduced her to a local women’s group. She’s still going and is much improved.”
That means they need to think not just about faith and the power of prayer, but about whole-person health care … how healthy living and faith come together for themselves and for the people who live and work around them.
One recent development of this thinking is to encourage congregations to appoint a registered nurse with community experience to help them take care of their own health and participate in community health improvement initiatives.
These “Parish Nurses” are often Practice nurses, District nurses, or Health Visitors who work in the NHS but volunteer a few hours a week to promote whole-person health and self-care with and through their congregations.
Training and regional support are available through Parish Nursing Ministries UK.
What can a Parish Nurse do?
- Encourage everyone towards healthy lifestyles
- Visit, and spend time listening to patients giving informed reassurance where necessary
- Liaise with GP surgeries and staff, making and taking referrals as appropriate
- Help patients to understand and comply with prescribed treatments
- Offer sensitive spiritual care, praying with people if asked to do so, and referring them to other denominations or sources of spiritual help as requested
- Introduce people to appropriate voluntary agencies, health facilities or support groups
- Offer training and opportunities for volunteering; develop a volunteer bank to encourage people towards self-care, hope, and friendship
- Arrange discussions with community groups about health issues
- Help an older person to live independently at home for as long as possible
- Work within the Code of Professional Practice (Nursing and Midwifery Council) especially with regard to confidentiality, teamworking and record-keeping.
- A Parish Nurse will not do dressings, injections, and invasive treatments. If these are needed they are provided by the Practice nurse, or District Nursing service.
- S/he will not give advice beyond the competencies for which s/he has been trained.
- S/he will not put pressure on anyone to change their religion or join a particular church.
A Parish Nurse may work for any church part-time or full-time, on a paid or voluntary-with-expenses basis. S/he will be assisted by a team that may involve other health-care professionals. S/he will have access to professional and spiritual supervision.
