Jewish Visiting (formerly known as Jewish Visitation) was established in 1875 to provide chaplaincy services to Jewish patients in hospitals in London and the surrounding areas. The service is run by the United Synagogue, but it is a cross-communal service covering all sections of the Jewish community, available to anyone who says they are Jewish. We also provide information to hospital staff on Jewish laws and practice.
Jewish Visiting, with its Senior Hospital Chaplain, organises the recruitment, selection, training and development, mentoring and support, and authorisation of Jewish Chaplains and visitors. We maintain a list of chaplains who have been authorised to provide services to the NHS and provide a contact point that patients and/or their families can use to request a visit or advice.
Jewish Chaplains work with colleagues of other faiths in chaplaincy teams to complement the work of the multi-disciplinary healthcare team. We try to meet the spiritual, religious, cultural, and pastoral needs of individual patients together with their relatives as well as staff. This may include advocating on behalf of patients, and providing information on support available outside the hospital, where appropriate. We provide booklets with Jewish prayers for healing.
We also prioritise providing information to hospital staff on caring for Jewish patients in relation to areas such as Jewish medical/ethical issues, meeting the rules of the Sabbath and Jewish holidays when in hospital, Jewish dietary laws, the needs of terminal patients, and what to do when a Jewish patient dies.
Contact:
Website: www.jvisit.org.uk
Email: info@jvisit.org.uk
Telephone: 020 8343 6238