Monash Health Spiritual Care provides person-centred care in a holistic approach to patients, their family, friends and employees. We respond in a culturally sensitive manner to the diverse spiritual and emotional concerns experienced by people in hospital and those who care for them.
Spiritual care
What we do?
Our Spiritual Care team offers support to people as they journey through times of illness, uncertainty, grief and loss. Meeting them at this vulnerable time, focusing on listening in a way that encourages each person to explore and express their hopes as well as their concerns, whilst drawing on their own spiritual and personal resources. The spiritual journey can be experienced in a very personal way or expressed through formal religious beliefs and practices of a person’s faith community. Spiritual care support may focus on a person’s own values or on ritual practices from their faith tradition whilst acknowledging their diverse religious as well as multi-cultural needs.
By participating in your care we aim to
- Be sensitive to specific cultural, religious or spiritual needs.
- Respond with respect, empathy and compassion.
- Offer confidential emotional and spiritual support when faced with illness, surgery, and end of life care.
- Provide religious and sacramental care including prayer, communion and anointing.
- Coordinate visits for you from representatives of various religious traditions.
- Provide support for staff and volunteers.
- Offer spiritual guidance in dealing with challenging experiences: letting go, saying goodbye, matters of forgiveness and reconciliation, meanings of suffering, life and death.
Spiritual Care Team
- Spiritual Care Practitioners offer professional support available to all patients, relatives, friends and employees.
- Visiting Ministers, Chaplains and ‘On Call’ Clergy from specific faith traditions are available to offer diverse religious support to all.
- A team of trained volunteers also offers limited and supervised support to inpatients.
Sacred Space or Chapel
A sacred space, chapel, meditation or prayer room is available at many Monash Health sites. People of all faiths and spiritual orientations are welcome to take time out to reflect, pray or simply be still. Find out more about service times from the different Monash Health sites, being Monash Medical Centre, Dandenong Hospital, Casey Hospital, and the Kingston Centre. You can find each site’s Spiritual Care contact details further below.
The Spiritual Care service operates during business hours from Monday to Friday.
How do I arrange a visit?
- Call the Spiritual Care department at the site that is relevant to you.
- Ask the nursing staff on your ward to make a referral.