Today.Az » World news » Spiritual care excluded in Turkish hospitals
31 October 2011 [12:53] - Today.Az
The Turkish government currently does not provide spiritual care to
patients in state hospitals, something regarded as an essential
component for the health of the whole person in the US and European
countries.
Providing spiritual care to patients in hospitals to help them
recover from their illness has been a matter of discussion at various
times in Turkey; however, there are no laws on this issue yet, while
spiritual care is a right that is guaranteed by governments in other
countries, such as the US and various European countries.
Spiritual care is regarded as part of medical care in the US and
European countries as they recognize the integration of spiritual,
emotional, social, psychological and physical care to be a component of
the health of the whole person. Spiritual care is believed to have
positive effects on the medical treatment of the patients. Additionally a
Bible is available in each patient's room in hospitals.
According to 2010 data, there are 3,000 full-time working chaplains
(spiritual care providers) on duty in US hospitals, while there are
4,500 chaplains in the UK: 500 of them working full time, and the rest
part time.
These chaplains' duties are to visit all patients, to listen, to pray
(if the patients request them to do so), to assist patients in matters
of faith, to help them achieve inner peace and strength, to answer any
spiritual questions they might have, to bring them a Bible or other
sacred texts from their specific faith traditions, to assist them in
contacting religious leaders from their faith tradition and to help meet
their specific faith or spiritual needs.
Working as a Turkish Muslim chaplain in Children's Hospital Boston of
the Harvard Medical School in the US for the past two years, Abrahim
Sayar told Cihan news agency that there are generally chaplains of three
faiths -- Christianity, Judaism and Islam -- in US hospitals. A
chaplain must pass certain educational requirements to work as a
spiritual caregiver in hospitals and also must have a background in
religious education.
The role of chaplains in the US
Pointing out that chaplains have a great responsibility in the US,
Sayar said chaplains know things doctors don't know about patients
because they provide pastoral counseling and minister to the spiritual,
emotional and psychosocial needs of patients, family members and friends
at all stages of the treatment process. He added chaplains are
sensitive to and supportive of the diverse spiritual and religious needs
of patients, medical caregivers and staff. He also said chaplains are
highly respected in US society.
Nevertheless, in Turkey there aren't any regulations about providing
chaplains in hospitals. Religious officials only take part in a
patient's funeral arrangements. There are no religious materials in
patients' rooms in hospitals.
However, the issue of providing spiritual care to patients was
brought to the agenda during budget talks in Parliament in 1994 when the
Ministry of Health issued a circular to launch an implementation by
cooperating with muftis' offices. The aim of the implementation was to
provide spiritual and moral support to patients at their request; but
this implementation was misevaluated by some people; they thought that
with this regulation the imams would read the Quran beside the patients
as though they were dead, which would demoralize patients. Some also
opposed the regulation, saying the duties of the chaplains, unless
satisfactorily defined, could cause chaos in hospitals.
As a result of this opposition, the Council of State granted a stay
of execution for the implementation and then repealed the regulation in
1996.
An imam in a state mosque, İbrahim Tunç told Cihan that there is
currently no regulation enabling religious officials to give spiritual
guidance and care to patients in hospitals where patients need spiritual
support most because they feel depressed and hopeless. He added that
patients need spiritual guidance to recover from illnesses as well as
medicine in hospitals.
Dr. Lütfi Öztürk, an internal medicine specialist, told Cihan that
spiritual care boosts the morale of patients, and good morale affects
the immune system positively; so spiritual care helps patients recover
from illnesses.
Spirituality excluded from medical care
He said spirituality does not fit easily with people's understanding
of science and what constitutes scientific truth, and there is a
tendency to exclude the significance of spirituality in medical care,
but it is necessary. Öztürk added that spiritual care should be regarded
as part of medical care.
Dr. Öztürk said that especially in Islam, illness is seen as a
present to humans, helping people get closer to God. When the patients
are told this, they are more motivated to endure their illnesses.
A cancer patient who wishes to remain anonymous said patients
suffering from cancer suffer from a variety of stresses and are often
anxious or depressed. She added that especially during the end-of-life
stage, patients are prone to fear the approaching death and suffer from a
sense of solitude and alienation; spiritual care helps these patients
feel they are not alone and that being ill is not the end of their life.
"Unfortunately in Turkey such services do not exist; I experienced a
breakdown after I heard I had cancer, so I rejected treatment for a
while because I felt no hope at all; there should be spiritual services
in Turkish hospitals -- but especially in the treatment of patients
suffering from deadly diseases," she said.
An official from the Turkish Religious Affairs Directorate, Ahmet
Çelik told Cihan that adopting a regulation about this issue is not
currently on the agenda, but added that it is essential because patients
need their spiritual concerns to be addressed, too.
Çelik said he believes this issue will be on the agenda soon, but
this process should be planned very well. Religious officers who give
spiritual care to patients should take in-service training to meet the
psychological, social and religious needs of patients satisfactorily. He
added that chaplains should gain an insight into the best way to
communicate with a person. If such a regulation is adopted, this
implementation should be evaluated in a pilot program.
/World Bulletin/
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