{"id":52185,"date":"2021-07-01T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-07-01T09:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hospitalarias.org\/en\/?p=52185"},"modified":"2021-07-01T09:00:00","modified_gmt":"2021-07-01T09:00:00","slug":"pastoral-care-in-ghana","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hospitalarias.org\/en\/pastoral-care-in-ghana\/","title":{"rendered":"Pastoral care in Ghana"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Father Nicholas Kofi Addison,\u00a0chaplain at the Sisters Hospitallers\u2019 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sistershospitallers.org\/centres\/st-francis-xavier-hospital\/\">Hospital St. Francis Xavier<\/a>, in Foso (Ghana) discusses various aspects of pastoral care in the African nation.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignleft size-large is-resized\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hospitalarias.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/07\/fff-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-52188\" width=\"240\" height=\"288\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>The evolution of healthcare over time\nreveals a current trend in hospitals to meet new standardisation expectations\nregarding the service provided. Also, this trend encompasses all aspects of\nhealthcare, including chaplaincy and pastoral care, which must be adapted to\nthe demands of a postmodern society (Margaret J. Orton, 2008).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Therefore, in this process of change\nwithin the healthcare sector, chaplaincy plays an essential role of spiritual\nsupport, understood as a facet of holistic care. As such, it is undergoing a\nrenewal in which, for example, patients of other religious denominations are\nalso taken into account (<em>ibidem<\/em>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This modernisation affects the concept\nof pastoral care globally, since it is an element typically present in many\nhospitals worldwide. It seems important to clarify the role that this pastoral\naspect of healthcare plays in society and its impact on people in hospital. &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To ensure this article\u2019s accuracy and\nrealism, its content is based on the presence of the Sisters Hospitallers in\nGhana. Specifically, the Congregation runs hospitals and outpatient clinics in Dompoase\nand Foso that offer general medicine, mental health support, and maternity\nservices. However, given the broad focus of the article, it can be extrapolated\nto the overall context of pastoral care in Ghana.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The role of the chaplain in pastoral care<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Broadly speaking, most religious\nhospitals in Ghana have a full-time or part-time chaplain on duty, depending on\nthe size of the facility and the demand for this service. In order to fulfil\nthe role, chaplains must be trained in theology, health or social sciences, or\nother related disciplines. They must also be registered with the Ghana\nPsychology Council.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pastoral care in a hospital can be\nsummarised by a passage from Matthew 25:31-46, which identifies the universal\nhuman tendency to be kind to the vulnerable and explains that the poor and the needy\nare deserving of the best we have to offer. &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With regard to the chaplain\u2019s practical\ninvolvement in pastoral care, his mission is to offer spiritual care, guidance,\nand advice to patients, their families, and hospital staff. Some common tasks\nof the hospital chaplain include: a) delivering daily mass for the Sisters,\nstaff, patients and their relatives; b) managing the pastoral care team; c) managing\nthe educational institutions\u2019 recreational team; d) visiting patients regularly\nto provide support; e) offering pre-marital counselling to staff; f) serving as\nintermediaries with pastors and ecclesiastical groups to visit patients of\nother denominations; g) organising training for staff members in pastoral care and\nother related topics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Furthermore, this role is a response to\nthe demand for holistic care at religious hospitals, which includes commitment\nto the patients and pastoral support. This is reflected in Luke 19:10, in which\nJesus says, \u2018For&nbsp;the&nbsp;Son&nbsp;of&nbsp;Man&nbsp;has&nbsp;come&nbsp;to&nbsp;seek&nbsp;and&nbsp;to&nbsp;save&nbsp;that&nbsp;which&nbsp;was&nbsp;lost.\u2019\nIn this passage, Jesus is actively trying to intervene in the lives of those\nwho are in a precarious situation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The social demand for pastoral care<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The different aspects included in pastoral\ncare and, specifically, in the role of the hospital chaplain, that stem from\nthe needs and demands of today\u2019s society. As mentioned previously, this facet\nof healthcare is in a constant state of renewal and adaptation to the context\nof modern society.&nbsp; &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In this respect, there are three main\ncircumstances in which patients and their families resort to the help of the\nhospital chaplain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The first includes the patient\u2019s basic\nneeds and requests for material aid, such as food, clothing, hygiene, or money\nfor hospital bills. The second entails emotional management, meaning, the\nchaplain provides support and guidance to cope with the spectrum of emotions a\npatient may feel, such as hopelessness, fatigue, sadness, anger, melancholy, or\nguilt. The third refers to the physical and emotional wellbeing of the patient.\nIn this context, for example, a patient may turn to the chaplain when death is\nimminent, when there is no family support, when they are about to undergo\nsurgery, or when they want to be discharged against medical advice.&nbsp;&nbsp; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The importance of pastoral care in healthcare<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>In general, pastoral care is a\nfundamental element in a hospital\u2019s commitment to provide holistic care to\npatients and the nearby vicinity, since it addresses the particular needs of\nthe person, regardless of their creed or background. &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Therefore, we can conclude that <strong>pastoral\ncare addresses the current and ongoing need for hospitals to tend not only to\nthe physical wellbeing of patients, but to their spiritual needs as well for a\nsustainable conversion of the soul.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Father Nicholas Kofi Addison,\u00a0chaplain at the Sisters Hospitallers\u2019 Hospital St. Francis Xavier, in Foso (Ghana) discusses various aspects of pastoral care in the African nation. The evolution of healthcare over time reveals a current trend in hospitals to meet new standardisation expectations regarding the service provided. Also, this trend encompasses all aspects of healthcare, including [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":52187,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[588],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-52185","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cat-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Pastoral care in Ghana - Hermanas Hospitalarias<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/hospitalarias.org\/en\/pastoral-care-in-ghana\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Pastoral care in Ghana - Hermanas Hospitalarias\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Father Nicholas Kofi Addison,\u00a0chaplain at the Sisters Hospitallers\u2019 Hospital St. Francis Xavier, in Foso (Ghana) discusses various aspects of pastoral care in the African nation. The evolution of healthcare over time reveals a current trend in hospitals to meet new standardisation expectations regarding the service provided. 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