Local Support Providers
A network of Local Chaplaincy Support
Committees oversees and administers the work of the stipended hospital
chaplains and their voluntary chaplaincy assistants on behalf of the ICHC.
The local committees
maintain links in their area with the
churches, community and hospitals.
These committees are locally appointed bodies that have their own constitution, and draw their membership from locally appointed representatives of the denominations making up the ICHC partnership, as well as members of other denominations and churches which are members of the local Ministers’ Association. The management of each hospital nominates a representative to serve on the committee.
The primary purpose of the Local Chaplaincy Support Committee is to offer on-the-ground administrative and pastoral support for the chaplain or chaplaincy team. It administers the personnel policies and procedures laid down by the ICHC Trust Board, especially in approving leave, arranging locum cover at the hospital when chaplains are on leave, or training courses etc. It is involved in local fundraising to pay the non-government share of the chaplains' costs. Some committees also act as the paymaster for stipended chaplains. Each Chaplaincy Committee has a Services Agreement with ICHC.
Hospital Representatives are often drawn from the senior nursing staff or HR staff, although in some cases they include doctors or CEOs. The representative’s role on the committee is to enable optimal co-operation between the churches, chaplains and hospital management to ensure the most effective chaplaincy service for patients and staff.
The appointment of stipended hospital chaplains by ICHC results from input from the Local Chaplaincy Committee, the hospital, ICHC and the appointee's denomination. Christian Volunteer Chaplaincy Assistants and locum chaplains who are in good standing with their denomination are recruited by LSPs for training to assist with the provision of the chaplaincy service in hospitals.
Hospital Chaplaincy remains a very important service. It is necessary for the ICHC Trust Board and its local chaplaincy support committees, to seek the other 50% ($2.3 million) from the Churches and the wider community each year if it is to maintain its service at its present level. LSPs oversee the provision of chaplaincy services.
