Muslim spiritual care provision in the NHS
The nation’s growing Muslim population is increasingly reflected in the staff and user numbers of the NHS hospitals. The latest figures from the 2011 Census also show that Muslims, with 2.7 million people (4.8 per cent of the population), are now the second largest religious group in England and Wales. This means that the NHS needs more Muslim chaplains to serve its patients and staff than ever before.
Muslim Spiritual Care Provision in the NHS is a project run by the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) in partnership with the Department of Health. It is working towards achieving an adequate supply of chaplains in the Muslim faith community. 2001 Census data on Muslim population was used by the Muslim Spiritual Care Provision in the NHS to secure funding for employment of imams paid for by the Departments of Health’s central funding of chaplaincy services.
This work is ongoing and the project is working to increase the number of Muslim chaplains available to the NHS by creating awareness about the need, together with running training courses and maintaining a database of all aspiring chaplains. It also aims to provide chaplaincy coverage in all geographical areas where the Muslim community is represented in significant numbers.
About the Muslim Council of Britain
The Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) is a national representative Muslim umbrella body with over 500 affiliated national, regional and local organisations, mosques, charities and schools. The MCB is pledged to work for the common good of society as a whole; encouraging individual Muslims and Muslim organisations to play a full and participatory role in public life.