CHAPLAINS SOFT TARGET IN HEALTH CUTS

Health cuts threaten hospital chaplains – even though the government and NHS bosses have underlined their importance. 

Unite the Union – Britain’s biggest trade union – is launching its own investigation as anecdotal evidence points to chaplains being culled in growing numbers. ‘Although we know staff are going across the whole of the NHS, the healthcare chaplains are being disproportionately targeted,’ said Carol English, Unite’s officer responsible for this area. ‘They’re a soft target.’ Parliamentary under-secretary for the Department of Health, Earl Howe, and NHS chief executive Sir David Nicholson have both stressed the need for hospital chaplains. But one chaplain said his NHS trust expects to cut four of its five chaplaincy positions.

Source: Church of England Newspaper (24/9)