St Luke's Hospital for the Clergy

Description

Over the last 12 months there has been considerable activity behind the scenes at St Lukes Hospital for the Clergy in its new guise of St Lukes Healthcare for the Clergy

The activity has been on two fronts supported by a very small but effective team based in a single room at Church House keeping our overheads to the bare minimum

First we have continued to act as an interface between individual members of the Clergy and our team of Honorary Consultants who have worked tirelessly and selflessly throughout We have had 243 requests from the Clergy for help over the last twelve months and have been able to meet those requests in 228 cases We are proud of this 94 success rate in arranging consultations and expect to at least match it in the coming year We hope that the Clergy will continue to contact us if they need help even without a hospital the advice and support of the Honorary Consultants seem to be much appreciated

Secondly we commissioned research into how best the Charity could continue to fulfil its objects within its available resources An interim Report indicating the outcome of this research has now been received by the Trustees and it indicates a clear unmet need in the area of occupational health of the Clergy stress anxiety and more serious mental illness such as depression

The Charity was formed by Canon Henry Cooper in 1892 to deal with just such problems but it is an aspect of healthcare which in recent times we have not covered as fully as we should have liked The Trustees are however keen to take up the challenge of deeper involvement in this area if it is found to be practicable and financially feasible for them to do so This is now being investigated

It is expected that the final Report will contain an analysis of the practical consequences of pursuing a twintrack approach That would be to continue our longstanding and effective referral arrangements with our team of Honorary Consultants which we aim to expand and to seek to improve access by the Clergy on a wholly confidential basis to mental health professionals and to facilities for mental health treatment This would be outside any formal employment offerings that may or may not which is sadly the case in too many instances be available Any comments on this proposal would be much appreciated

Despite not making any appeal for funds whilst the future of the Charity has been uncertain we have been heartened by the continuing financial support shown to us even without the hospital The Trustees would now greatly appreciate further donations to help us in our continuing endeavours