Chaplaincy

Who we are

We are a team of people, of various faiths and denominations, appointed by the Hospital Trust to help promote the spiritual well-being of  everyone in our hospitals.

Our staff

Full time: Revd Kevin Tromans (Senior Chaplain). Revd Catherine Minor, Revd Jim Wright

Part-time:  Mrs Carol Moody, Mrs Patsy Ottewell,  Father Paul Tully,

Honorary;  Revd Elizabeth Cummings, Revd Canon Penny Martin, Fr Dennis tindall (RC).

Bank Team: Revd Alan Middleton, Deacon Jane Middleton, Revd Alan Stainsby

Across the Trust, we are supported by some 24 chaplaincy volunteers. Occasionally we will have student chaplains on placement with us.

What we do

We are here for patients and their families of all faiths or indeed none. We offer care by   being with you, listening, and helping you  reflect on the changes, questions  or  challenges your stay in hospital may be raising. When it is  appropriate we can pray with you or offer the sacraments of the Church: Holy  Communion, Anointing, or Sacrament of the sick.          

We can also contact your own minister or priest or we can arrange for your religious needs to be met by a representative of your own faith should you request it.

You will see us around and we will be pleased to meet you and help you in what ever way we can.

A chaplain is always available for urgent calls.

 We offer

• Someone to talk to in confidence
• Personal and pastoral care
• Religious and sacramental support
• Places and literature for prayer and reflection
• A link with local faith communities.

Recording your Chaplaincy/Spiritual care:

Recording the care chaplains give you is helpful to your wider care team, particularly because it will help them be aware of your spiritual care needs and be able to help us better support you in meeting them. 

With your permission, the chaplain or chaplains who visit you will record the care we give you in your healthcare record/nursing notes. We will always identify ourselves and that the notes we write are a summary of the support or care given to you by the chaplain. We will not view or access any other section of your records which may contain sensitive personal information.

We will always seek your consent before recording any information in this way. 

You have the right to refuse consent of this recording of chaplaincy/spiritual care information

Staff suppor t

Chaplains are always available for staff. We can be contacted at any time to listen, talk, advise or counsel.

All such meetings are confisdential. We are happy to help staff reflect on situations or events they have found difficult.

We're also able to advise on "churchy" matters like, for example, how to arrange a baptism, a wedding, a blessing of marriage, or perhaps a funeral.

Where we are

 We work as a team across the Trust and have a presence at each of its hospitals, visiting the wards on a regular basis.

We have various facilities for prayer and worship in our hospitals and all of our patients and their families are welcome to share them.

Our places for prayer and opportunities to worship:

At Bishop Auckland Hospital

The Chapel / Prayer Room is on the main corridor of the ground floor.

Mass is occasionally celebrated  in the chapel by our honorary Roman Catholic chaplain. Dates and times are advertised locally and the service is open to all.

At Darlington Memorial Hospital

The Mary Hodgkin Chapel has now been reprovided as part of the Trust's STEM project to renew operating theatres and areas of associated care.

Our splendid new chapel is just up the corridor from the women's centre. It is purpose built and incorpporates a worship/prayer area, wudu (ablution facilities) quiet room and office which is now the base for the Darlington chaplaincy team. 

The chapel is open daily between 0800 and 1900 (8am to 7pm). Outside these hours it can be opened by arrangement with the site security team.

Chapel Services:

Sunday, 11 am, Sunday Service (usually Holy Communion)
Thursday, 10.30 am, Holy Mass.

There is also a small Prayer Room on level 1 of the main ward block.

Volunteers are available to take patients along to the Sunday services in wheelchairs.

At University Hospital North Durham

The Chapel is on floor 1, near ward 5. It is small and compact, seating up to 15 people. Within it are three unique stained glass panels designed for the Trust by a local (Consett) glass artist. It also contains a uniquely designed collage work depicting the local countryside. 

The Chapel is open 24 hours a day for prayer, reflection or simply as a place to sit quietly away from the busy-ness of the other parts of the hospital.

Chapel services

Sunday, 11.15am, Holy Communion.
Saturday 10am, Holy Mass.

The Prayer Room is on the East Wing Corridor. This has wudu (ablution) facilities. It is accessed by means of a code-operated lock; the code is available from chaplaincy or from any of the regular Prayer room users.

Dhuhr - Muslim Midday Prayers - 1.30pm, daily. Friday Prayers at 1.30pm

How to get in touch

You can telephone the chaplains:

• at Bishop Auckland Hospital: 01388 455451.
• at Darlington Memorial Hospital: 01325 743029.
• at University Hospital of North Durham: 0191 333 2183
• at Shotley Bridge and Chester-le-Street Community Hospitals: 0191 333 2183

Our ward staff will always be pleased to contact a chaplain for you - please ask them if you wish to see a chaplain.

Out of hours or urgently

There is always a chaplain available for urgent calls, 24 hours a day. The On Call chaplain can be contacted through the hospital switchboard and, when contacting them, switchboard should be advised that the call is urgent.. Chaplains on call aim to attend to urgent calls out of normal working hours within 1 hour. During normal working hours the chaplain on call will attend as quickly as is possible but because we sometimes work across several sites, we may not always be able to attend immediately.