About SPaRC

SPaRC stands for Spiritual, Pastoral and Religious Care and is a Bradford Teaching Hospitals service that simply aims to be alongside patients and their families in the difficult circumstances that can arise in acute care.

Some people will be familiar with the term ‘Chaplaincy’ but here at the hospital we have adopted the name of SPaRC for our service because we want to:

• include all beliefs, not just the religious
• recognise that everybody can do with some pastoral and spiritual support
• respond to your own individual worldview or faith

Members of the SPaRC team visit the wards around the hospital on a regular basis, but can also be called to make specific visits or to provide rituals or prayers at key times.

Every SPaRC practitioner is ready to talk to you about your agenda and concerns, without judgement or advice – it is not about what we believe but about what you what to express and explore.

We work on the basis of equality, with no patient having more entitlement than another, and no belief being more valid than another.

For patients who are religious, we can offer prayer or ritual, but only if you request it – how far you observe is your business not ours.

The SPaRC team is drawn from a variety of beliefs and disciplines – that is its strength. We work in a cross-belief way which means that we recognise our common values of kindness and respect but also value our different ways of understanding the world and our existence.

The SPaRC Practitioners are organised into a core team, flexible bank staff and volunteers who visit the wards and offer services.

Spiritual, Pastoral and Religious Care SPaRC Team
Prospect Cottage, 27 Smith Lane. BD9 5HL
Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

T: 01274 36 5819
E: SPaRCteam@bthft.nhs.uk

Office hours: Weekdays 8am – 4pm
On-call contact through Switchboard