'It’s an enormous privilege to spend time with people at crucial points in their lives.'
As part of the #OurWXpeople spotlight series, this week we are highlighting the great work carried out by the chaplaincy team. We caught up with James Grenfell, Chaplain at Whipps Cross Hospital, to give us all the details on the department.
Hi James, can you tell us a bit about yourself?
After doing academic research at University, I trained to be a priest and for 13 years worked as a vicar with parishes in Liverpool and Sheffield. Since then I’ve led a training programme for priests and worked for an international development charity before starting at Whipps Cross in January last year.
What does a typical day look like for you in chaplaincy?
One of the things I love about chaplaincy is just how varied each day can be. I regularly spend time visiting patients, participating in MDT meetings, and meeting individually with staff on occasions. I also take funerals, lead worship in the Chapel, and teach sessions on the significance of providing high quality spiritual and religious care to our patients.
What do you enjoy most about your job?
It’s an enormous privilege to spend time with people at crucial points in their lives to provide a safe, confidential space for them to explore what is most important to them and to try to find clarity and a sense of peace. Sometimes, though not always, that involves helping people to get in touch with how their faith can support them and illuminate their situation.
What’s the most interesting conversation you’ve had with a patient?
I find people’s stories fascinating. While some of the most moving conversations need to remain confidential, I listen to many deeply inspiring stories of people coping with the challenges of ill-health with enormous courage, grace, and humour.
Has the pandemic affected the way you and the team work ?
The pandemic has had a huge impact on the way we work, from our use of volunteers, the way we did bed-to-bed visiting, the suspension of collective worship, a hugely increased focus on end-of-life care, and an increased need for staff support. We have also found new ways to use technology, for instance using iPads to enable a chaplain of a different faith to lead prayers for a patient and their relatives.
How did you support each other within the chaplaincy team during the pandemic?
We are a small team dispersed across the hospitals in the trust but we have kept in regular close contact with one another, sharing the challenges and demands of our roles and many of the heartbreaking stories of loss we heard and experienced. We also derived strength from the knowledge that, in common with all the staff, we were remembered in prayer by those in our local faith communities and beyond.
Tell us something interesting about yourself.
I’ve lived and worked in Argentina and Guatemala in theological education, community development, and political research.
Read our previous spotlight features: