Bishop Philip writes…

In our Diocese of Portsmouth, we have a number of major hospitals, including the Queen Alexandra (QA) Portsmouth, University Hospital Southampton, The Royal Bournemouth Hospital in Christchurch, the North Hampshire Hospital, Basingstoke, the Royal Hampshire County Hospital in Winchester, and the Royal Berkshire in Reading. We also have a number of smaller hospitals, including those on the isle of Wight and the Channel Islands. It is always an issue but it is crucially important that if as a Catholic you are admitted to hospital, please ensure – or ask your family to ensure – that the Catholic Chaplaincy is contacted so that appropriate support can be given. Access to hospitals is restricted at the moment, especially during the coronavirus emergency. One suggestion would be for the patient to carry a note to give to hospital staff on admission notifying staff that they are Catholic and that they would really appreciate the Catholic chaplaincy service. This could be followed up by a telephone call from the family to the ward making the request. Hospital staff are always under immense pressure, and it can happen that a person’s religious details are overlooked upon admission, especially if it is an emergency. Our hospitals at this time are doing a fantastic job in enabling our chaplains to operate and to offer support to patients, often in innovative ways, and where possible to administer the Last Rites. Let us pray for all the medical staff who are caring for the sick – and also for our magnificent chaplains in their irreplaceable work. Let us pray too ourselves for a happy death and that no Catholic dies without the sacramental care of Mother Church.