Our Mission
Support Parish Nurses and churches to improve the lives of people in the UK through whole person health care
Our Vision
See churches and Christian organisations in every region of the UK supported to host high quality, sustainable, accredited Parish Nursing services that facilitate wholistic health and wellbeing for local people
Wendy came to the village 3 years ago. She was in her 90s and had been in a muddle about her medication, so I made a referral to our Medicines Support unit. I discovered that Wendy had problems with her memory, which her husband had been helping her to hide from her family. I arranged for her to attend the Drop-In for people with dementia that I run with Alzheimer’s Society twice a month, as well as getting her to church services.
Parish Nursing operates by supporting people and communities towards the concept of whole-person healthcare, through a local church of any denomination.
Whole person healthcare is about the person’s overall well-being, which includes spiritual, physical, mental and social aspects of health. Rooted in the Biblical concept of ‘Shalom’, we believe that these areas of well-being are integrated and often have an impact on each other.
All Parish Nurses are registered nurses and are appointed or employed through a local church or Christian organisation. Most of them continue to work for the NHS, although some work solely as a Parish Nurse.
Parish Nursing Ministries UK is the only body in the UK where Registered Nurses can receive the certificate in Parish Nursing.
We help churches and Christian organisations to plan, establish and maintain a Parish Nursing service as part of their mission in the community. Once established, Parish Nursing Ministries UK provides ongoing professional support to nurses who work on a part-time, full-time, paid or voluntary basis as a Parish Nurse.
Once you have decided to appoint a nurse to your church or organisation, we work with you every step of the way to develop a plan based on the church and nurse’s vision, strategy and gifting, guided by our experience and knowledge.
Parish Nursing Ministries UK offers a certificate in Parish Nursing for the nurse including a residential or online course, with particular emphasis on integrating nursing skills with spiritual care, as well as various other aspects of the role. We also offer an annual symposium. Crucially, this is backed up by ongoing advice for the church and the nurse, professional updates, ideas from other projects, communities of practice, and the opportunity to network through our online channels.
Why Christians?
20% of the Christian Gospel is devoted to Jesus’ healings and the ensuing debate around them. In Hebrew culture at this time, Jesus viewed individuals as an essential unity. In His healing, He focused on relations between the person and God, the person and their neighbours, and the person and the world. A sense of wholeness and healing was an integral part of the work of the church.
In the UK it is clear that the National Health Service cannot comprehensively meet the burgeoning demand for increasingly complex health care and there is a need for individuals and communities to reclaim responsibility for whole-person care.
The church, as part of its fundamental remit of bringing wholeness and salvation through Christ, is well equipped to engage more fully in this activity. Parish Nursing is a recognised practice and Parish Nursing Ministries UK ensures this essential work is carried out to appropriate standards and quality of care, complementing, rather than competing with, statutory healthcare.
