The Nelson Hospital Chaplaincy service provides support, comfort and encouragement to thousands of patients and their families, and even to hospital staff, each year and now it’s their turn to ask for help.
It’s Hospital Chaplaincy Week next week and the Nelson Hospital Chaplaincy is holding a fundraising stall to help maintain the invaluable services provided by its dedicated volunteers.
The Nelson Chaplaincy Service is a nondenominational organisation, there to offer a friendly ear to hospital patients, staff and visitors.
Yvonne and her team of 18 volunteers visit people in wards and also run the hospital chapel, which is right beside the café.
They continue to actively promote our theme of: Retain and Sustain our Healthcare Chaplaincy services.
The aim is to retain and sustain this country’s 90 Hospital Chaplains and some 300 voluntary Chaplaincy Assistants.
For two years, Yvonne McLean has been the chaplain at Nelson Hospital and in that time she’s spoken with thousands of people, dealing with heartbreak, joy or stress.
But she says no matter the situation, she and her volunteers offer something often missing from a hospital – peace.
She says some people want to talk, some don’t, while others are just happy to sit in silence while their hand is held.
“We try to gauge what they’d like from us and some people don’t want to see us, but they’re always polite about it,” she says.
“Others want to get something off their chest and we’re there for that, too.”
Yvonne was a minister at Nelson Cathedral before she took up the job at the hospital. She says it was “God’s decision” and she has thoroughly enjoyed it.
“He made it very clear that he wanted me here and it’s been very rewarding, very fulfilling. It has its tough times, but it’s a privilege to be with people during tough times and happy times, too.”
She says coming from the Anglican cathedral to the multifaith Chaplain did take some adjustment, but the main reason for the job isn’t about faith, it’s about people.
“I really care about people, regardless. I have up-skilled in other faiths but mainly it’s about people and listening to people, and being there for people no matter what their faith is.”
Last year, Yvonne and her team made 6952 “meaningful” visits to patients and assisted 1019 family members.
She says there is plenty of joy in her job, with new parents and grandparents coming to the Chaplain to give thanks along with those who may have had surgery and are feeling much better.
But there is heartache as well.
“Sometimes it’s tough,” she says.
“Certainly there are times where I have to come back and collect myself, and there are times that I’ve spent time in the chapel just having a few moments of quiet, that’s where I recharge again.”
Due to confidentially rules, Nelson Weekly couldn’t speak with any of the patients that the Chaplaincy has helped, but it did receive an anonymous comment from a patient through the chaplaincy.
It read: “Thank you once again for all your support and the support of your team. I would not have been able to get through this admission if it wasn’t for you and your team. I really praise God for all of you. Thanks again, God bless you all.”
The chaplaincy service is 50 per cent funded by the government, the rest is made up from donations.
Yvonne says they get great support from the hospital itself and local churches, but they’re hoping to raise some more money from the community to cover a shortfall this year.
Anyone who would like to contribute can do so by contacting the service’s fundraising coordinator, Annie Brown, on (03) 546 1818
