Transcript Parish Nursing Ministries UK

Combatting loneliness
“Loneliness is as bad for one’s health as smoking...”
Jeremy Hunt, October 2015
What can churches do to reduce
loneliness and improve health in our
rural communities??
Churches have
• Presence in most local communities
• Values that include pastoral care, prayer,
friendship, hope and purpose for living,
healing and health.
• Volunteers (DBS checked) willing to support
people at times of crisis, and opportunities for
volunteering.
• Health professionals who are accountable and
work to their professional code of practice
January 2013
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• Since 2004, UK churches of all denominations
have begun to recognise the potential of the
health professionals in their congregations
and have commenced health outreach
programmes, complementing the work of the
NHS and other voluntary agencies.
• This is known as “Parish Nursing”
• “Parish”...meaning the local community
• “Nursing”...meaning the coordination of
health promoting activities and advice, rather
than dressings and injections.
January 2013
www.parishnursing.org.uk
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Why nursing?
• Health ministry can actually be led by any currently
registered health professional following their code of
practice
• Nurses are often trusted with private personal
information.
• Nurses have some knowledge of health, disease process
and medication across all age-groups.
• Nurses have a coordinating role in health care, bringing
in others as need is identified.
• There are 600,000 currently registered nurses and
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around 10 % of them are likely to be in our
congregations.
January 2013
www.parishnursing.org.uk
The practice of Parish Nursing includes care that
supports physical
and psychological functioning,
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protection against harm, the family as a unit,
effective use of the health care system, the health
of the congregation and community, lifestyle
change, with particular emphasis on coping with
difficult circumstances and spiritual care.
All this is dependent on the parish nurse (or health
professional) being able to effectively mobilize
volunteers in the congregation to support this
model of health ministry.
Ann Solari-Twadell, November 2013
November 2013
www.parishnursing.org.uk
What do Parish nurses do?
Make Home visits
Health
education with
community
groups
Offer “Clinic”
sessions at
church
Promote
healthy eating
and exercise
Support
independent
living
Encourage better
Help to reduce hospital
use of the health
admissions and reservices
admissions
Make referrals and signpost
Pray with people if
people to appropriate
they would like that
resources
Train and Coordinate
volunteers
January 2013
www.parishnursing.org.uk
Advice for
personal
health
Make links with
with GP
surgeries,
voluntary
agencies, and
other health
providers
Parish Nursing Ministries UK is an infrastructure
charity set up in 2006 to promote, develop and
resource the ministry of parish nursing
We offer advice for churches wishing to
commence a project, the initial one week
training for registered nurses and allied health
professionals, quality assurance standards, and
continuing professional development.
So far, this is where we are......
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January 2013
www.parishnursing.org.uk
Anglican
Baptist
Methodist
Catholic
Church of
Scotland
Independent
Pentecostal
Salvation Army
Church in
Wales
Local
Ecumenical
Current
Projects
What are people saying?
Church goer in rural Cambridgeshire:
“Our parish nurse has been here for
everyone, in sickness, health, death. Any
issue you’d like to name, be it trouble,
strife, changing people’s lives, our Parish
Nurse has made such a difference”
What are people saying?
GP Surgery: “We have very much appreciated
the work of our Parish nurse. She has become
a source of comfort and support to some of
our most vulnerable patients and her
combination of care, competence and
humanity have been of immense value to
patients at some of the hardest times in their
lives”
What are people saying?
Service user: “I owe a huge debt of gratitude
to our parish nurse, who supported me
immensely when I had to face up to a
potentially life-threatening situation...she was
always willing to answer questions and she
always ended a visit by taking out her special
parish nursing prayer book and adapting a
prayer specially for me. These were very
special moments.”
How can more churches commence
health ministry?
• By gathering an interested group of people from local
churches and parish councils and connecting with GP
surgeries to identify local need
• By identifying health professionals in their
congregations who are willing to offer a few hours a
week in this ministry
• By covering the cost of training and professional
support, (around £1000 for set up and then £500
per year)
January 2013
www.parishnursing.org.uk
Help is available
• Grants can be accessed through local trusts,
denominations, and the Cinnamon network.
• Parish Nursing Ministries UK can provide a
representative to meet with the church council or PCC
to explore the idea further.
• Parish nurses or Parish health professionals that have
completed the introductory training have access to all
the resources, ideas, professional networking and
policies for practice available through PNMUK, and
support through a Regional coordinator.
January 2013
www.parishnursing.org.uk
What can you do?
• Introduce us to nurses/ministers in your churches,
friends or family
• Talking about this to people who you think might
wish to support us financially, so that we can move
towards our vision of access to a parish nurse for all
who so choose.
• Become a friend of parish nursing...leaflets available
here
• Contact us through our website for more information
about how to start a local parish nurse project
January 2013
www.parishnursing.org.uk
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Parish nursing....
...supporting people and
communities towards whole-person
health through the local church.
www.parishnursing.org.uk