KATE NEWTON
From blessing a newborn baby to praying for the victim of a horrendous car smash, it's all in day's work for an on-call hospital chaplain.
"Some days can be described as a routine day when you do the rounds of the wards but other days the phone is ringing and the pager is going off and you have to go from one emergency to another," said chaplain Prue Neild, who works half-time at Hawke's Bay Hospital.
Miss Neild works alongside full-time Reverend Heather Flavell and the Catholic chaplain Fay Evans, as well as nine trained voluntary chaplaincy assistants, who usually work for about four hours a week.
When the phone rings or the pager beeps often they are being called to pray for someone who has just had a bad diagnosis or someone who has just died, but a lot of the time all people want is someone to listen to, Miss Neild said.
There can be decisions that need talking over, like whether to turn off life support or donate a family member's organs. "So sometimes it's just being a listening ear or maybe just making sure they have all the information they need," Miss Neild said.
"There are all sorts of feelings in bad situations, not just grief. Sometimes there is anger or people are left with unfinished business."
But it's not all doom and gloom in the life of a chaplain. "Sometimes it can be a matter of rejoicing with someone who has just found out their diagnosis was not as bad as they thought," Miss Neild said.
Rev. Flavell recalls being called to the maternity ward one Christmas morning to bless twins born during the night.
"That was really lovely. The whole floor was covered in children opening their presents. It really made my Christmas Day," she said.
And it's not just patients and their family who call on the chaplains or the peace and quiet of the chapel.
"The staff here are under a tremendous amount of stress. This hospital is full 90 per cent of the time and sometimes they need to just have a cup of coffee, relax and have that listening ear," Rev Flavell said.
And because Rev Flavell and Miss Neild are ecumenical they are there for everybody.
"The majority of people we talk to wouldn't have a church background and we are there for them and for people of other faiths too," Rev Flavell said.
"We can refer people to the umma if they are Muslim or can arrange for the Jewish rabbi in Wellington to come up."
But despite the chaplains providing an essential service, one most would agree goes hand in hand with medical care, funding is always a struggle.
The Chaplaincy Service Budget for the 2007-2008 year shows expenditure of about $100,600 in Hawke's Bay.
Of this, 45.6 per cent will be met from contributions from the Services Member Churches and Presbyterian Support, 29.2 per cent by government subsidy, and 16.8 per cent by the District Health Board.
This leaves $8,700 to be found through donations and interest.
Donations can be made through the website www.beingthere.co.nz
Chaplains' life and death crisis of funds
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