Catholic
Chaplains missioned to hospitals have been challenged to let their presence
inspire confidence among the sick and the staff, to ensure improve healthcare
delivery to all.
 |
| Rev. Fr. Prof. John Appiah-Poku explaining a point, while Mr Essegbey looks on. |
Rev.
Fr. Prof. John Appiah-Poku, a senior lecturer at the Kwame Nkrumah University
of Science and Technology (KNUST), stated that Chaplains were symbols of our
shared faith, and charged them to demonstrate it, show it and live the tenets
of the Church’s teachings in their respective roles. This is to complement
efforts being made in the healing process at the hospitals.
He made
these observations in a presentation titled: The Chaplain as a Counsellor for
Medical Intervention, at the Pope John Paul II Pastoral and Training Centre at
Ofoase-Kokoben in the Obuasi Diocese.
Stressing
the place of consistent and supportive care in the healing process, the
Professor, intimated that irrespective of the cause of sickness, many non
serious illness will heal when some level of care and concern were shown to the
patient.
“The
assurance and support offered patience increases the threshold of the patient
tolerance for pain” he noted, adding that as the human face of God in the
healing process, Chaplains were the comforting presence of the Church to the
sick, through the administration of the sacraments and offering care.
Fr. Appiah-Poku, opined that symbolic healing
(which takes spiritual and physical form) was no monopoly of religious
confession, and charged Chaplains to be skilful in their practice, as well as strive
to maintain the uniqueness of the Church’s healing ministry at all times.
He
stated that the Chaplain as the hope of the hopeless, comforter of the troubled
hearted and the bearer of the image of God, must insist on Catholic beliefs in
healthcare delivery at the various facilities at all times.
 |
| Mr George Adjei |
He entreated Chaplains
to play the intermediary role to reduce the negative impacts punishment on
staff for mistakes or psychological effects an error or negligence in
caregiving might have on an offending staff.
In case of death of
patients on admissions, Mr. Adjei urged Chaplains to engage the deceased families
in to break the sad news of death of loved ones and follow up to console and
support them afterwards.
Likewise, Mr. Ivan Essegbey,
Senior Coordinator, Monitoring and Evaluation at the DOH, reminded the
Chaplains of their duty to maintain good identity of their facilities in order
to avoid bad press image, medico-legal issues, and loss of revenue among others.
“Be involved in
orientation and organise retreats for management and staff” he stated.
Similarly, Mr. Lawrence
Ofosu-Agyari, Senior Coordinator of Health Systems Management at the DOH, touched
on the essence of team building, highlighting the crucial roles of chaplains as
well as other members of the management team in ensuring cohesion, and addressing
the complexities of healthcare provision in their respective facilities.
He however, urged them
to maintain their neutrality, as they encourage team members to give off their
best, reminding them to add a professional touch to their work.
Mr. Ofosu-Agyari, also
advised chaplains to lobby and build consensus on issues patterning to budget,
and how to ensure the effective work of Pastoral Care teams.
The Chaplains
were urged to be directly involved in the pre-counselling and post-counselling
sessions for those undertaking HIV/AIDS Test and also do more of pre-surgical
counselling for patients.
 |
| A section of the Chaplains |
Almost
all the Chaplains reported an increment in their allowance from ¢300 to ¢1000, after
the Directorate of Health and the respective Executive Secretaries took up the
matter the concern the Chaplains registered last year. However a lot of them
were yet to get offices in the various facilities they were working in.
Per the
demands and nature of the Chaplains work in the healthcare delivery, the
Chaplains expressed the need for training to equip them and need for Bishops to
appoint permanent Chaplains to hospitals to help effectively make them
effectively function in their apostolate.
Based
on most Chaplains desire to visit Rome, the Director for NCHS touched on the possibility
of arranging for two or three chaplains to attend the Annual Pontifical
Conference on Health Rome each year to give them the platform.
The chaplains also resolved to invite Chaplains of
Catholic Health Training and Midwifery Schools as well as Catholic Chaplains in
Government Institutions to be part of the Association.
