Community key to good healthcare, says incoming Archbishop of Canterbury
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dame Sarah Mullally, focused her first new year’s message on the pressures facing the healthcare system and the importance of access to “holistic services”.
Drawing on her experience as an NHS nurse, she said: “Good health care is incredibly important to me. It goes hand in hand with my Christian faith, which is inspired by Jesus’ call for us to love and care for each other deeply.”
Support for people in their communities can help tackle the “root causes” of many hospital admissions, he said, adding that social and palliative services are “stretched”.
Dame Sarah will become the first female leader of the Church of England later this month.
In her speech, Dame Sarah said churches offering regular lunches in a community setting “can be as important to our physical and mental health as medical intervention”.
They can also help people get health checks, he added.
“At St Thomas’ Hospital, where I first trained, the chapel is a place of refuge for staff and patients away from the busy wards. The multi-faith chaplaincy team is on hand to listen, pray or simply sit with those experiencing life’s most difficult and painful moments.”
He continued: “Near the chapel is the Children’s Hospital. It has staff who specialize in play therapy, relieving hospital stay anxiety and speeding recovery.”
He said services were under increasing pressure but community support “can help tackle the root causes of many admissions”.
“I see this in my own diocese in London, where people offer holistic support in different settings,” he said.
In churches such as SAINT in Hackney, where regular lunches are held, “people from all backgrounds from all over the world receive a warm welcome, receive health checks if they require them and, most importantly, experience the love of Jesus Christ who shows us how to wash the feet of others”.
She added: “In my current role, I strive to bring the care and compassion that shaped my profession as a nurse to everything I do.”
“The role of the church should be to be a healing presence in our nation, bringing people together in times of often intense division, caring deeply for those who need our help.”
Dame Sarah will become the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury at a ceremony at Canterbury Cathedral on January 28. He was chosen to replace Justin Welby after he announced his resignation over a year ago over his failure to deal with an abuse scandal.
The Church of England is considering making a complaint against Dame Sarah over her handling of the abuse allegation.
As head of state, King Charles is the head of the Church of England, but the Archbishop of Canterbury is the most senior bishop and spiritual leader of the Church and the worldwide Anglican Communion.
