Live Q&A!

Hannah11 4 years ago

15 replies

aline 4 years ago

Edited by aline 4 years ago

Due to the current situation, there’s lots of family and friends that are unable to attend the funeral. Is there anything people can do on the day so that they still feel involved?

clairewretham 4 years ago

Edited by clairewretham 4 years ago

· Good Morning Marie Curie Online Community!  My name is Claire and I am the Spiritual Care Lead at the Cardiff Hospice. I’m here to this morning to answer some of your questions live in the chat and I also have some Frequently Asked Questions to explain a bit about the work I do at the hospice and on the Support Line.  I work with patients and their families to help people of all faiths and none find peace, meaning and connection whilst living with a terminal illness. My role is very similar to that of a Chaplain and I work with community faith leaders in Cardiff and the Vale to help people express themselves religiously if that is important to them. I also work with people who don’t have a faith to talk about what matters to them and how they find peace. My work is all about journey and I work with people to help them understand and voice their journey before they die.

What has your journey looked like so far in your life? What matters to you?

aline 4 years ago

Hi Claire  thanks for taking the time to join us!

clairewretham 4 years ago

What is a Chaplain? Or a Spiritual Care Lead? A Chaplain is a member of the family support team in Healthcare Settings, but they are also found in prisons and in the military. Traditionally the role was for an on hand Christian priest to be available for patients, family members and staff, but these days the role is given to people of lots of different backgrounds and beliefs and is essentially on hand to provide emotional, psychological and spiritual support wherever it is needed. This can involve signposting to different organisations, calling in faith leaders for prayers or rituals to be carried out, or simply providing a listening ear and a space to talk.

clairewretham 4 years ago

People often ask me questions like... 

I’m not part of a religious group and I’m not sure what I believe in, can I still talk to a spiritual care coordinator about how I’m feeling? Of course! The Spiritual Care Coordinator is for people of all faiths and none. I always try to speak to everyone regardless of their beliefs or background, but also have lots of resources and connections so can signpost you onto to someone more specialist if I can’t answer any of your questions in the moment.  I often ask people about what brings them peace and how they find meaning and connection in their life. These might not be related to religious beliefs! But then again they might not be. I just give people a chance to explore that by asking them questions and giving them space to talk

But why does that stuff matter if I’m ill with physical symptoms? We know that terminal illnesses can affect people in all areas of their life and we know that symptoms might not just be physical but they might be emotional or spiritual too. We refer to these symptoms as “Spiritual Distress” – for some this might be that they can’t come to terms with the fact that the end of their life is approaching, and they are angry or in denial. For others it looks like sleepless nights lying awake wishing you had made peace with a family member you haven’t spoken to for years and years. For others again the questions might be about what is beyond death – Is there a heaven? Have I been “good enough” to get there? Research shows that people who are given the time and space to work through some of these questions or process big events in life are more likely to die at peace and using lower doses of pain relief so we think its important that everyone has a chance to do that if they want to!