INTER FAITH WEEK 2011, DAY 3: NHS STAFF MULTI-FAITH RESOURCE BRIEFING AT BRANDON MENTAL HEALTH UNIT

At the Brandon Unit, Leicester General Hospital this afternoon, promoting the NHS Staff Multi-Faith Resource that Leicester Council of Faiths has helped produce for Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust (LPT).

I'm here with Abida Hussain (photo above), Equalities and Human Rights Officer in LPT's Integrated Equality Service and Revd. Sally Martin, Lead Chaplain of LPT's Spiritual and Pastoral Care Team, as we start the process of briefing members of LPT staff most likely to use this resource.

This is the first of three lunchtime briefings this week which we (and LPT) are counting as part of our respective activities for Inter Faith Week.

BRANDON UNIT

I receive a phone call this morning from a member of staff at the Brandon Mental Health Unit at Leicester General Hospital. She's calling to ask where they could obtain a multi-faith wall calendar. We don't produce one ourselves, though it's one possible project for our 25th anniversary next year. I recommend that she get hold of the calendar produced by Bradford District Faiths Forum.

While I have her ear, I recommend that the Brandon Unit become involved with the East Midlands Network on Spirituality and Mental Health. There's not much active representation from Leicester and Leicestershire on this network and we need to take every opportunity to promote it. She tells me that the unit has a weekly spiritual care team meeting and that she’ll ensure this matter is raised at the next one.

Photo above: an Eid display at the Brandon Unit, made by service users there.