|
HOSPITAL/HEALTH
CARE CHAPLAINCY
|
||||
 |
||||
|
Guidelines
for the Appointment of
Abode
version of Fr Edward Lewis' letter dated 1 September 2008 INTRODUCTION In November 2003 the Department of Health issued guidance for managers and those involved in the provision of Chaplaincy-spiritual care in its document NHS Chaplaincy: Meeting the Religious and Spiritual needs of Patients and Staff. Calculating
Chaplaincy-spiritual care Units Appointments
Panel Faith Community Representatives have the following contact points: Panel of Assessors It is recommended that an Assessor be appointed at any early stage when setting up an appointment. The Assessor will advise as required on the Job Description and Person Specification and any other matters concerning terms and conditions. The Assessor would be included on the interviewing panel to give a professional assessment on the applicants. Further advice on the role of assessors may be found at: www.publications.doh.gov.uk/assessors.htm Trust Human Resources Departments can arrange the appointment of an Assessor by sending a request to mary.ingledew@churchofengland.org who will forward your enquiry to the Co-ordinator of The Panel. The request should give details of the Whole-Time appointment which is proposed – i.e. a new post or a replacement post of an existing chaplain (with an indication of when the existing chaplain is leaving), and details of when it is proposed to advertise and interview. (As a guide there should ideally be approximately 7-8 weeks timescale from first advert to interview date.) APPOINTMENT PROCEDURE1. Identify the need for the post and the funding required.
2. HR Dept to request the appointment of an Assessor from mary.ingledew@churchofengland.org (who will forward your enquiry to the Co-ordinator of The Panel). giving details of the post (e.g. Team Leader, Chaplain, Chaplain’s Assistant); new post or replacement post (replacing whom?); anticipated time scale for advertising and interviewing. 3. At the same time in order to establish that candidates are accredited to their respective denomination contact the appropriate faith community representatives. (see contact points above) 4. The Trust, with the help of the Assessor, should produce a Job Description, Person specification, and Information Pack for applicants. 5. Agree the composition of the interview panel. This could include a representative of the Trust as the Chairman, a senior Medic, a senior Nurse, a senior Manager, an HR Officer (who should be responsible for making the arrangements and correspondence), Faith Representative and the Assessor. Such others may be included or substituted as the local situation seems to suggest. 6. Arrange a date for the interviews agreeable to the proposed panel. (This often proves the most difficult task to do at short notice, therefore it is best to fix the date and time for interview and work back from the agreed date leaving approximately 7-8 weeks from first advert to interview date.) 7. Agree the wording of the advertisement with the help of the Assessor. HR to place the advertisement for two consecutive weeks. Include a closing date and possible dates for interview.
8. Give at least two clear weeks from the date of the second advertisement appearing to the final closing date. 9. HR should send the following to all applicants:
10. All applications should be copied and sent to all members of the interview panel for short-listing. (Allow one clear week to make up a common short list.) 11. Once a common short list is completed check with faith community representative to ensure all names on the short list are eligible for appointment. 12. HR should apply for references of short-listed candidates only. 13. Non short-listed candidates should be informed by HR. 14. Short-listed candidates should be given the details of the interview and invited to make informal visits. 15. Following interview the successful candidate should receive an official letter from HR offering the post subject to medical examination and the usual checks, and be given a date by which to make formal reply to the Trust. 16. Encourage the successful candidate to check out the Contract of Employment with the Assessor before signing. 17. In liaison with the Assessor arrange for any appropriate training course or other induction or mentoring to be booked. 18. Unsuccessful candidates should receive a formal letter from HR. 19. In response to a direct request from any unsuccessful candidate the Assessor is available to give a debriefing and professional advice. 20. Advise mary.ingledew@churchofengland.org the name and the starting date of the new Chaplain and she will forward the details to the Co-ordinator of The Panel.
FURTHER INFORMATION Appointing Sessional Chaplains When the calculation of total Chaplaincy-spiritual care time indicates that sessional chaplains should be appointed the HR Department should contact the appropriate Faith Community Adviser asking for the nomination of a suitable accredited person(s) to fill the vacancy. (The Bishop’s Adviser of the Diocese in which the Trust is situated for Anglican or Roman Catholic appointments, the Free Churches Secretary for Health Care Chaplaincy, or the Faith Community Representative). A Job Description, Person Specification, and Contract of Employment setting out the proposed terms and conditions of service and units of chaplaincy required per week should be prepared and discussed with the Adviser. Distances should always be taken into account if the appointment is to cover more than one hospital or site, and consideration should be given to the amount of time a sessional chaplain is able to give bearing in mind the person’s parish or community responsibilities and main area of pastoral concern. After interview and consultation with the Adviser the Trust should make the usual checks before issuing the Letter of Appointment and Contract of Employment.
SPECIFIC ADDITIONAL ADVICE NOT COVERED ELSEWHERE For specific advice on Anglican
appointments please consult: For specific advice on Free
Church appointments please consult: The Rt. Revd. Tom Williams, Auxiliary Bishop in Liverpool Roman Catholic Bishops' Conference of England & Wales Flat 6, Brucklay House, North Mossley Hill Road, Liverpool L18 8BP Tel: 0151 724 6786 - Fax: 0151 724 7715. Email: bpwilliams@rcaolp.co.uk For
specific advice on Jewish appointments please consult: |
|
|
This page was updated 8 August 2011 |