Discovering meaning, purpose and hope through person centred wellbeing and spiritual care: framework

6. Appendix A – Table of recommendations

The aim of these recommendations are threefold: to establish Scotland as a world leader in the development and delivery of spiritual care; to further develop spiritual care services using a person-centred and assets-based models where “what matters” to service users and staff are central; set out a pathway for improving services equitably across health and care settings across Scotland ensuring that services articulate best practice.

Key Deliverable

1 Health and social care providers should ensure that spiritual aspects of care are assessed, recorded and regularly reviewed within care plans in all health and care settings and services.

Action By

Health and social care providers

Key Deliverable

2 NHS Territorial Boards should give consideration as to how they provide a 24/7 service within acute settings. Where this level of service is not currently provided an action plan showing how and when this will be achieved should be developed.

Action By

NHS Territorial Boards

Key Deliverable

3 NHS Territorial Health Boards should establish, or maintain, Community Chaplaincy Listening as a referral based, spiritual care listening service, delivered by trained and supported volunteers and managed by Spiritual Care Teams.

Action By

NHS Territorial Boards

Key Deliverable

4 Health and Social Care Partnerships and care providers should consider establishing partnerships with existing listening services and the third sector to extend listening services into community settings; working collaboratively to establish the service where not available.

Action By

HSCP

Key Deliverable

9 The Scottish Spiritual Care Professional Leads Group should explore the development of a national approach to training for spiritual care volunteers with the NHSScotland Volunteering Advisory Board.

Action By

SSCPLG

Key Deliverable

10 Health and social care providers should engage with local belief communities, to enable dialogue between staff, spiritual care providers and community groups.

Action By

Health and social care providers

Key Deliverable

13 Public bodies who commission care and support (including future models of social care) should ensure that services meet the physical, mental, social, and spiritual needs of service users and give consideration to how spiritual care training and service delivery is appropriately costed and adequately resourced.

Action By

Public Bodies

Key Deliverable

16 The Scottish Government should explore the development of a spiritual care standards with the Care Inspectorate and Healthcare Improvement Scotland for use in inspections.

Action By

Scottish Government

The aim these recommendations is twofold: First, to provide training opportunities for staff to develop increased reflexivity in their practice and to better understand how to address the spiritual needs of individuals they care for. Second, to provide spiritual support to staff in order to help them to better manage their own wellbeing and resilience.

Key Deliverable

5 The Scottish Spiritual Care Professional Leads Group in partnership with NHS Education for Scotland and spiritual care teams should take a lead role in the continued development and expansion of Values Based Reflective Practice® through their learning, facilitating the learning of others and promoting Values Based Reflective Practice® across the wider health and social care system.

Action By

SSCPLG, NES & Spiritual Care Teams

Key Deliverable

6 Health and social care providers should promote bereavement support for staff, particularly those providing palliative and end of life care across all settings.

Action By

Health and social care providers

Key Deliverable

7 Where established, health and social care providers should include Spiritual Care Teams in the planning and delivery of staff support to enhance the emotional and spiritual wellbeing of staff.

Action By

Health and social care providers

Key Deliverable

8 Health boards and agencies with responsibility for planning responses to critical / major events and local incidents should adopt good practice by ensuring Spiritual Care Teams are integral in planning for, and responding to, such events and incidents.

Action By

Health Boards

Key Deliverable

11 The Scottish Government and NHS Education for Scotland should explore with professional bodies how spiritual care can be embedded into standards for workforce education, training, and practice.

Action By

Scottish Government / NES

Key Deliverable

12 NHS Education for Scotland and the Scottish Social Services Council should work with partners, including education providers, the third sector and service users, to support the development of spiritual care knowledge, skills and understanding across the workforce. This will include enhancing the spiritual care elements within their respective programmes and curricula and promoting access to appropriate educational resources.

Action By

NES / SSSC

Key Deliverable

14 The Scottish Social Services Council should consider spiritual care as part of the planned National Occupational Standards review and consider how spiritual care fits with the scoping review in 2023/24 and a full review in 2024/25.

Action By

SSSC

Key Deliverable

15 As the content of the National Induction Framework continues to be developed by Scottish Social Services Council and NHS Education for Scotland, learning and guidance on spiritual care should be included, to support social care workers to be equipped and confident to provide spiritual care in their new roles.

Action By

SG, NES & SSSC

The aim of these recommendations are threefold: First, to strengthen and deepen evidence about the impact of spiritual care interventions across health and social care settings. Second, to ensure that robust and standardised mechanisms of data capture are in place. Third, to further develop and expand Scotland’s contribution to the international field of evidence-based practice in spiritual care.

Key Deliverable

17 The Scottish Spiritual Care Professional Leads Group should ensure that spiritual care teams complete the Scottish PROM as a routine screening, outcome and feedback measure.

Action By

SSCPLG

Key Deliverable

18 The Scottish Spiritual Care Professional Leads Group in partnership with stakeholders should pilot a national minimum data set using a PDSA (Plan, Do, Study Act) model of quality improvement, and use the findings from this to develop and support a permanent national model for data gathering.

Action By

SSCPLG & Spiritual Care Teams

Key Deliverable

19 Health and social care providers should ensure spiritual care staff are aware of their professional and legal responsibilities to maintain clear and accurate records.

Action By

Health and social care providers

The aim of these recommendations is threefold: First, to establish a recognised training / career pathway for Registered Chaplains. Second, to ensure that the standards, which govern spiritual care staff and services are safe, effective and person-centred. Third, to ensure that through mandatory registration Registered Chaplains are fit practice.

Key Deliverable

20 The Scottish Government, in collaboration with the Scottish Spiritual Care Professional Leads Group, NHS Education for Scotland, and other partners, should establish a short life expert working group to agree a national approach to an education, induction and a formative learning programme for early career Registered Chaplains.

Action By

Scottish Government

Key Deliverable

21 NHS Education for Scotland and Scottish Social Services Council will work in partnership with Scottish Spiritual Care Professional Leads Group and other stakeholders to deliver a programme of spiritual care education and development opportunities for spiritual care teams. This should include;

a) initiatives to strengthen and nurture the leadership capability of all Spiritual Care Teams

b) initiatives to further enhance the strategic leadership skills of spiritual care leaders and Registered Chaplains.

Action By

NES / SSSC / SSCPLG

Key Deliverable

22 The Scottish Government in partnership with NHS Education for Scotland and the Scottish Spiritual Care Professional Leads Group should establish a short life working group to develop a proposed carer pathway for Registered Chaplains.

Action By

Scottish Government

Key Deliverable

23 The Scottish Government to establish a short life working group to agree profession specific role descriptors aligned to Agenda for Change using a “Once for Scotland” approach.

Action By

Scottish Government

Key Deliverable

Key Deliverable

Action By

Action By

Key Deliverable

24 Employing bodies should follow good practice as set out by the UK Board of Healthcare Chaplaincy and national Partnership Information Network (PIN) Polices regarding the recruitment of Registered Chaplains.

Action By

Employing Bodies

Key Deliverable

27 The Scottish Government, in partnership with the Scottish Spiritual Care Professional Leads Group and health boards should develop a national service specification for spiritual care services.

Action By

Scottish Government

Key Deliverable

28 The Scottish Spiritual Care Professional Leads Group should engage with resources and activities available locally, regionally and nationally, to inform workforce planning that enables the provision of high quality spiritual care in all boards across NHS Scotland.

Action By

SSCPLG

Key Deliverable

29 Health boards should manage spiritual care within Nursing, Midwifery and Allied Health Professions and ensure that spiritual care services are aligned with person centred care.

Action By

Health Boards

The aim of these recommendations is to ensure that the people of Scotland have access to world leading spiritual care which is equitable, consistently excellent, safe, effective and person-centred.

Key Deliverable

30 Health boards, if they do not already have one, should appoint an Executive Lead for Spiritual Care confirming with the Scottish Government once they have done so.

Action By

Health Boards

Key Deliverable

31 The Scottish Government should appoint a subject specialist and advisor to lead on the implementation and co-ordination of the Spiritual Care Framework utilising the model of Professional Advisor roles currently used throughout Government.

Action By

Scottish Government

Key Deliverable

32 The Scottish Government should establish a cross agency Advisory Board on Spiritual Care with appropriate sectoral and external representation to oversee the implementation of this framework and to bring proposals for change where this is necessary.

Action By

Scottish Government