happy chappies

Just caught this report on BBC News, so have found the web report on it; the National Secular Society, a pressure group representing non-believers (which is not an issue in itself - I mean, someone gave Mary Whitehouse a voice, and we've all been paying for it since) are calling for churches to foot the bill for hospital chaplains. Here's a key paragraph:

A Department of Health spokesman said it was "committed to the principle of ensuring that NHS patients have access to the spiritual care that they want, whatever faith or belief system they follow".

The spokesman said: "Chaplains do an extremely demanding job, often in difficult circumstances, and their skill and dedication is highly valued by patients, relatives and staff within the health service."

A Church of England spokesman said: "Spiritual healthcare has long been acknowledged, by both medical practitioners and the churches, to be an intrinsic part of caring for people in hospital.

"NHS Trusts pay for chaplaincies because they see them as part of their duty of care to patients, not because the churches force them to."

We who believe accept that health comes in three strands: physical, mental and spiritual. However, if you don't have Christian faith, or indeed outside of any of the major religions, then perhaps the third of these does not enter thinking and thus the position of the NSS can be easily understood. But I'm relieved to see that, for the timebeing at least, the NHS are pretty adamant that this is not something up for discussion.

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