Chaplaincy

As a Trust, we are committed to deliver holistic care to our patients, visitors and staff. The Chaplaincy service offers spiritual, religious and pastoral support for people of all faiths and no faith. We passionately believe that the Chaplaincy service is for everyone and seek to ensure that each patient, visitor, service user or staff member has access to spiritual support that is right for them.

The trust-wide Chaplaincy service is primarily based at Airedale General Hospital. There is a linked service for patients and staff at Castleberg Hospital and we also provide a service to the mental health wards on the Airedale site, which are the responsibility of Bradford District NHS Care Trust.

The Chaplaincy at Airedale is staffed by a team of Christian, Buddhist and Muslim chaplains and trained volunteers.

How can you arrange to see a chaplain?

If you would like a visit from a chaplain, please tell a member of staff. Alternatively, a message can be left on the Chaplaincy answerphone: 01535 294088 or extension 4088 (from an internal hospital phone). Referrals are welcomed from clergy and faith leaders. There is usually a chaplain based at Airedale Hospital on weekdays between 9-4pm. Out of hours, patients are encouraged to contact their own faith leaders who will be made welcome.

Chaplaincy Rooms

There is a Chapel at Airedale Hospital, which is situated near to the West Entrance of the Hospital at location C2.  Staff, patients and visitors can use it for personal prayer. There are Bibles, prayer books and other resources that are all free to use or take away. There is also an area set aside for reflection with resources set out for this purpose and changed regularly.

There is a Muslim Prayer Room at location C3. It has washing facilities and a curtain, so that women may pray in privacy.

The Chapel and Prayer Room are open 24 hours per day and provide spaces for prayer, reflection, and times of quiet. Please feel free to use these facilities, which are here for you.

We also have a quiet room opposite our office at C2 which is for anyone to use who wants to chat with us or wants a little quiet time away from the ward.

What opportunities are there for prayer and attendance at services?

On Sundays at 11am there is an ecumenical Christian service in the Chapel. It generally lasts 30 minutes and includes, Bible readings, prayers and hymns.  If you are a patient, currently and wish to attend, please let a member of staff know and we can arrange for you to be collected in a wheelchair if necessary.

Jummah (Friday Prayers for Muslims) takes place in the Chapel. Please see the notice within the Prayer Room for the current time. There are two sessions, both around lunchtime.

We hold a weekly meditation group for staff run by our Buddhist Chaplain. This tales place on Wednesdays at 12- 12:30pm in the Chapel.

There is also an informal Christian Prayer Group meeting each Thursday 12- 12.30pm in the Chapel.

We hold a bi-monthly Memorial Service at Utley Cemetery for babies lost in pregnancy which is by invitation. Further information about these services is available from the Chaplaincy office.

For those who would like prayers to be said for a particular patient or situation, there is a prayer tree in the Chapel with paper ‘leaves’ and pens on which patients, relatives, visitors and staff, may leave a prayer message. Each week, these requests are prayed for by the chaplains.