1st May 2007

Dear Colleague

The Caring for the Spirit NHS Project

As you know, the Caring for the Spirit strategy was launched in November 2003 as the development strategy for the chaplaincy and spiritual healthcare workforce in the NHS. NHS Yorkshire and the Humber and its predecessors have taken the implementation of the strategy forward as the Caring for the Spirit NHS Project. The implementation programme was planned to run from January 2004 to mid-2010.

During the lifetime of the implementation programme, the NHS has been undergoing a programme of modernisation, which has culminated in the reduction of the number of Strategic Health Authorities from 28 to 10 with effect from 1^st July 2006. The emergence of these Authorities has required an assessment of priorities including an examination of national workforce programmes previously devolved to them.

SHA Chief Executives established a review process for these national workforce programmes in early 2006. Subsequently, they agreed in December that, as many programmes were ending their agreed lifespan, it would be sensible to assume that they all should end in July 2007. They then established a small review Panel led by Neil McKay, Chief Executive of NHS East of England and supported by the Office of SHAs secretariat to oversee the closure programmes and to judge whether any programmes should continue.

The submission for the Caring for the Spirit NHS Project was examined in March. The conclusion of the Review Panel was to recognise the valuable contribution that the programme had made and to acknowledge that most of the outcomes and outputs had been or were due to be achieved. The Panel therefore concluded that this programme should terminate in mid October 2007 to coincide with the final working day for the Lead Chaplains.

The project group is therefore making arrangements for the project to end formally in October. We will be undertaking a formal end of project assessment and will publish that report in due course to ensure that lessons are learned and appropriate responsibilities are passed on to successor bodies. In this respect, we anticipate that SHAs will continue to provide NHS leadership to chaplaincy workforce development.

Yours sincerely

Derek Thomson

Derek Thomson

Head of National Workforce Projects

Distribution:   All Chaplaincy Bodies

Progress of the Caring for the Spirit NHS Project in 2003 - 2006

·        Launched in November 2003 at the same time as the latest chaplaincy policy guidance from the Department of Health.

·        Caring for the Spirit was the last of the workforce strategies for professional healthcare staff and matches those for nurses (making a difference 1999), allied health professionals (meeting the challenge 2000) and healthcare scientists (making the change 2001).

·        Instigated surveys of user involvement in spiritual healthcare in support of the Project. (May 2003)

·        Provided a communication infrastructure in support of the Project including a chaplaincy webpage of project resources; a newsletter to chaplains and chaplaincy contacts every three months; and a discussion group for healthcare chaplains. (January 2004)

·        In conjunction with other chaplaincy bodies, finalised the competences for research to be included in the occupational standards for spiritual healthcare. (July 2004)

·        Established regionally based spiritual healthcare development units staffed by the four Lead Chaplains to take forward the development and modernisation activity with chaplains and chaplaincies. (October 2004)

·        Clarified the functions and purpose of chaplaincy collaboratives being established within SHA boundaries to provide a focus for chaplaincy development and modernisation. (June 2005)

·        Commenced formation of chaplaincy collaboratives within all SHA areas. (June 2005)

·        Developed a statement of knowledge and skills in spiritual healthcare as a first step to identifying a curriculum on which healthcare chaplaincy training and education can be based. (July 2005)

·        Assessed the state of development of acute and mental health chaplaincies to inform subsequent priority setting and progress measurement. (August 2005)

·        Completed and implemented a review of the work of the panel of national assessors for chaplaincy appointments. (August 2005)

·        Surveyed PCTs about the chaplaincies they manage in order to achieve a comprehensive understanding of the chaplaincy network and to identify the complete range of chaplaincy provision. (September 2005)

·        Published, following a listening exercise, a statement of the minimum data set for spiritual healthcare. (November 2005)

·        Published, following a listening exercise, a strategy for continuing professional development in spiritual healthcare. (April 2006)

·        Published, following a listening exercise, a statement about models of healthcare chaplaincy service and practice. (May 2006)

Progress of the Caring for the Spirit NHS Project planned to October 2007

·        Reviewing the arrangements for Department of Health delegated projects including the administration of the central allocation for hospital chaplaincy and the Connecting for Health DPA project. (June 2007)

·        Publishing the research report on the efficacy of healthcare chaplaincy as the evidence base for chaplaincy. (June 2007)

·        Publishing the next stage of the educational framework incorporating partnerships with the University of Cardiff and the Multi-Faith Group for Healthcare Chaplaincy. This will take the form of a draft curriculum for healthcare chaplaincy and will be subject to wide discussion within the University and Healthcare community. (July 2007)

·        Undertaking a listening exercise on the advice to be given commissioners about healthcare chaplaincy as developed by the shape/ structure workstream under the leadership of Revd Kevin Skippon. (June/ August 2007)

·        Undertaking a listening exercise on the draft research strategy developed by the Panel overseeing the Efficacy Study. (June/ August 2007)

·        Reviewing and confirming with SHAs the arrangements for established chaplaincy collaboratives including the collaboratives website and discussion group. (September 2007)

·        Undertaking the final project review in order to ensure both that the project ends in an orderly way and also that the appropriate lessons are identified and communicated. (October 2007)

Derek Thomson

Head of National Workforce Projects

May 2007

This page was updated 1 May 2007