EQUALITY & DIVERSITY IMPACT ASSESSMENT
When completed, a copy of this EQIA form should be emailed to lynsey.fitzpatrick@nhs.net
Name of Policy/Strategy
Dumfries and Galloway Spiritual Care Policy
Name of Division
Nursing, Midwifery and Allied Healthcare Care Professions
Names and role of Review
Team:
Ewan Kelly
SECTION ONE
Lynsey Fitzpatrick
Date(s) of
assessment:
22 July 2015
AIMS OF THE PROGRAMME
1.1. Is this a new or existing Policy/Strategy
Existing
1.2. What is the aim or purpose of the Policy/Strategy
This policy will enable Dumfries and Galloway Health and Social Care services to:
A. recognise that within health and social care in Dumfries and Galloway there is a need for everyone (service users, carers and staff) to have
meaning and purpose in their lives. In order to foster this aspect of individual and communal living and to promote resilience and wellbeing,
spiritual care has a role in proactively:
 promoting self management and deepening self-awareness within individuals, groups and communities to help reduce dependence on
statutory services
 enabling services users, carers and staff to deal more effectively with life transitions and losses through normalising and de-medicalising their
response to such
B. acknowledge that those dealing with:
 significant or life changing illness, loss or injury and/or
 ethical dilemmas and major life decisions
may require reactive and more immediate spiritual care and support
C. acknowledge that:
 those actively associated with a faith community may expect to derive help, support and comfort from their religious faith and from the faith
communities to which they belong. In this context, the beliefs and rituals of their religion and support of its representatives may be sufficient to
meet their spiritual needs.
 for many who have no formal religious association, but who recognise their own need for spiritual care, there is a requirement for a self-aware and
sensitive listener who has time to be with them in their need.

spiritual care is not the sole preserve of the spiritual care team, visiting or other representatives of faith communities Members of health and social
care staff provide this as part of their professional duties and many carers, volunteers, friends and relatives also provide spiritual care.
1.3. Who is this policy/strategy intended to benefit or affect? In what way? Who are the stakeholders?
It is intended to benefit the people of Dumfries and Galloway by seeking to promote meaning and purpose in individuals and local communities.
The policy seeks to enable the resourcing, educating and supporting of health and social care staff to help them identify the assets in their own lives and
those in the people they work with which promote meaning and purpose for individuals and communities.
Stakeholders are the people and local communities of Dumfries and Galloway.
1.5. How have these people been involved in the development of this policy/strategy?
A stakeholder group with an ongoing remit has been developed in the revision of this policy and the local spiritual care delivery plan which is associated
with it. The stakeholder group initially included representatives from various sectors and disciplines involved in delivering health and social care as well as
local community groups. The group will be developed to include a wider variety of service users and groups as part of ongoing regular consultation.
1.6. What resource implications are linked to this policy/strategy?
Further capacity is required in order to deliver:
 a 24 hour service
 to educate, resource and support staff to deliver spiritual care as part of person-centred care
 perform a region wide spiritual care needs analysis
 embed and sustain community, assets based spiritual care services which support self-management
SECTION TWO
IMPACT ASSESSMENT
Complete the following table, giving reasons or comments where:
The Programme could have a positive impact by contributing to the general duty by –

Eliminating unlawful discrimination, harassment, victimisation or any other prohibited conduct

Advancing equality of opportunity by having due regard to:


Removing or minimising disadvantage

Meeting the needs of particular groups that are different from the needs of others

Encouraging participation in public life
Fostering good relations – tackling prejudice, promoting understanding
The Programme could have an adverse impact by disadvantaging any of the equality groups. Particular attention should be given to unlawful direct
and indirect discrimination.
If any potential impact on any of these groups has been identified, please give details - including if impact is anticipated to be positive or negative.
Population Groups (Remember many people are in several of these groups which may add to their vulnerability)
People with protected characteristics:
Positive
impact
Adverse
impact
No
impact
Comments
*This policy has a potentially positive effect on all groups detailed below due to its
person-centred and inclusive nature*
Women
X
Men
X
Minority ethnic groups (includes
gypsy travellers, refugees and
asylum seekers)
X
This policy seeks to ensure the language and specific religious requirements eg
rituals, would be met.
Older People and middle years x
x
A higher percentage of older people have a connection with a faith community. This
policy seeks to ensure the individual religious needs of service users are met.
Children & Young people
x
Disabled People (includes
physical disability, learning
disability, sensory impairment,
long-term medical conditions)
x
This policy seeks to ensure those with physical disability have access to sanctuary or
quiet spaces within institutional settings to enable them to carry out individual or
shared spiritual or religious practices.
The policy seeks to enable those with sensory impairments have access to
appropriate interpreters or communication devices to enable their individual spiritual
needs to be met.
Every service user would be considered on a person centred basis.
People with different religions
or beliefs (includes people with
no belief)
x
This policy seeks to ensure that the spiritual needs of all are catered for whether,
individuals have formal religious beliefs or not, for example, ensuring sanctuary and
quiet spaces are suitable for use for those with any belief, or no belief.
Lesbian/gay women
X
This policy seeks to ensure that regardless of sexual orientation, the spiritual needs
of an individual will be sensitively met.
Gay men
x
This policy seeks to ensure that regardless of sexual orientation, the spiritual needs
of an individual will be sensitively met.
Bisexual people
x
This policy seeks to ensure that regardless of sexual orientation, the spiritual needs
of an individual will be sensitively met.
Heterosexual people
x
This policy seeks to ensure that regardless of sexual orientation, the spiritual needs
of an individual will be sensitively met.
Transgender people
x
This policy seeks to ensure care is person-centred and thus respectful of an
individual’s gender, including transgender people.
Married and unmarried
people/civil partnerships
x
Issues relating to pregnancy
and maternity
x
People with language or social
origin issues
x
Individuals with Mental Health
issues
x
This policy seeks to ensure any spiritual care delivered meets the language or
cultural needs of individuals.
Staff: this policy seeks to ensure the spiritual needs of staff are met in a person-cemtred and inclusive manner and that staff are equipped and supported
to help meet the spiritual needs of service users.
Full time
x
Part-time
x
Shift workers
x
Staff with Protected
Characteristics
x
Staff vulnerable to falling into
poverty
x
Equality and Human Rights
Eliminate discrimination and
harassment
x
The policy seeks to ensure that no individual is discriminated against or harassed
due to its person-centred and inclusive nature.
Advance equality of opportunity
e.g. improve access to and
quality of services
x
The policy seeks to ensure equity of access to appropriate services and to reduce or
remove potential barriers to provision of sensitive person-centred spiritual care.
Foster good relations
x
This policy seeks to communicate clearly the needs of various groups with respect to
spiritual care provision.
SECTION 3
EXAMINATION OF AVAILABLE DATA AND CONSULTATION
Data could include: consultations, surveys, databases, focus groups, in-depth interviews, pilot projects, reviews of complaints made, user feedback, academic or
professional publications, reports etc
Name any experts or relevant groups / bodies you should approach (or have approached) to explore their views on the issues:
Representatives from : Local faith Communities, local voluntary agencies, independent care sector, service user groups,
What do we know from existing in-house quantitative and qualitative data, research, consultations, focus groups and analysis?
We know from feedback from patient experience and integration events involving staff and service users from a variety of sectors and disciplines that
resources developed by spiritual care services to help resource and equip to deliver person centred care and deepen staff fulfilment at work are positively
received.
What do we know from existing external quantitative and qualitative data, research, consultations, focus groups and analysis?
Bunnis, S. 2014 Values Based Reflective Practice Evaluation Report. Edinburgh: NHS Education for Scotland.
Kelly, E. 2013 Translating Theological Reflective Practice into Vales Based Reflective Practice: a Report from Scotland. Reflective Practice: Formation
and Supervision in Ministry 33: 245-256
The above reveal that tools developed in spiritual care to help resource and support staff in delivery of spiritual care help tp
1) Promote the person-centred care they deliver
2) Deepen relationships in teams
3) Enhance staff engagement and fulfilment at work
What gaps in knowledge are there?
A spiritual care needs analysis ideally requires to be performed in order to inform service provision in local contexts.
In relation to the groups identified:
What are the potential impacts on health?
Enabling and empowering individuals and local communities to utilise their assets to promote individual and collective welbeing. Action research has
revealed that spiritual care delivered in GP practices (Community Chaplaincy Listening) helps to affirm patients and support patient self-management as
well as normalising feelings associated with loss and transition in life.
Mowat, H., Bunniss, S., Snowden, A. and Wright, L. 2013 Listening as healthcare. Scottish Journal of Healthcare Chaplaincy 16:35-41
http://www.sach.org.uk/journal/journal1600.htm
Will the Programme impact on the experience of health care? If yes - in what way?
Patients who have received sensitive spiritual care report that they feel more at peace, more hopeful and more able to engage with nursing and medical
staff to make decisions about their health and wellbeing.
Snowden. A. 2012 Healthcare Chaplaincy: The Lothian Chaplaincy Patient Reported Outcome Measure (PROM). The construction of a measure of the
impact of specialist spiritual care.
http://www.snowdenresearch.co.uk/download/healthcare-chaplaincy-the-lothian-prom-2012-revised-col-online-only.pdf
Will the Programme impact on access to health care? If yes - in what way?
HAVE ANY POTENTIAL NEGATIVE IMPACTS BEEN IDENTIFIED?
If so, what action been proposed to counteract these? Negative impacts (if yes, state how) e.g.

Is there any unlawful discrimination?

Could any community get an adverse outcome?

Could any group be excluded from the benefits of the Programme/function?

Does it reinforce negative stereotypes?
Recommendations (This should include any action required to address negative impacts identified):
MONITORING
How will you monitor how this proposal affects different groups, including people with protected characteristics?
A Patient Related Outcome Measure (PROM) for patients utilising Community Chaplaincy Listening Services has been developed nationally and is being
utilised in Dumfries and Galloway. This tool helps patients to feedback their experience of spiritual care provision including on the impact of the extent to
which they felt empowered to make decisions about their health and wellbeing. Data, including age, is collected in relation to this study.
What monitoring arrangements are in place?
The stakeholder group will meet in an ongoing basis to monitor the policy and associated spiritual care delivery plan.
Who will monitor?
Stakeholder group and Person-Centred Health and Care Group
FOR NEW POLICIES ONLY
What research or consultation has been done?
What stage is the Programme at?
What is the target date for completion?
Is a more detailed assessment needed? (It is not necessary to subject all proposals to a detailed assessment.) If so, for what reason?
COMPLETED POLICY
Who will sign this off?
Person-centre health and Care Committee. Corporate Lead : Hazel Borland
When? August 2015
PUBLICATION
How will this be published? Health Board Website and available on Hippo
Carried Out by
Ewan Kelly
Signature
Authorised by
Signature
Title
Spiritual Care Lead
Date
Hazel Borland
Title
Date
Nurse Director