Rev Erica Wishart, Registered Chaplain, reflects on 'The Culture of Dying Matters'

In 2025, Dying Matters Awareness Week took place from 5 - 11 May. The theme of the 2025 campaign was: The Culture of Dying Matters. 

“On 30 October last year, I was invited by Prof Joe Goldblatt, the Chair of EIFA, to attend the first ever Faith & Belief Conference held by the Scottish Government. The First Minister addressed the conference and spoke very passionately about the need for all faith and belief groups to connect and unite for the good of our communities.  In the round table discussions, one of the questions we were asked to answer was: "Name one thing that unites people of different faiths or beliefs", and my answer was "life-limiting illness and the need for the best possible palliative care".  We discussed it round the table and Prof Goldblatt was in the same group as me.  He spoke very movingly about how he had got involved with the Hospice initially through the Interfaith Gathering that we hosted here a few years ago, and how that had led to one of our in-patient unit (IPU) patients being supported by both him and me.  We both journeyed with this patient towards and through end of life. It was a very meaningful collaboration for us both and for the person who had requested support.

“That first gathering at the Hospice and the subsequent events which have come from it, including the Scotgov Conference, a Peace Service and Holocaust Memorial Event, have led to me putting together a Multifaith Resource folder with prayers etc, all contributed by different faith leaders. I had asked each one whether they could contribute any prayers, readings, links to videos etc that might be helpful for our staff/patients/carers when someone is dying.  I have a copy for IPU and our Virtual Ward team also have a copy.  It's a resource I am always looking to add to whenever we come into contact with a new faith group or a patient or family requesting specific support at end of life.

“Similarly, there are two copies of an Interfaith Contact List which I inherited from the previous Chaplain, which have now been adapted and updated.  Each time I meet a new faith representative who understands our aims, I ask whether they would be willing to be added to this list. It allows me (or the nursing staff in my absence) to call on an appropriate faith leader if a patient or family member requests spiritual or religious support.  So far, we have contacts for the following: Rabbi for practising, traditional Jews, female leader for Liberal Jews; Prof Goldblatt, scholar for people interested in Judaism; Imam for Muslims; scholar for female Muslims; leader for Shia Muslims; Chaplain for Pagans and a Chaplain for Unitarian faith.

“I also point staff to the NHS document: Spiritual Care: A Multifaith Resource for Healthcare Staff as it is a good starting point for learning about how to care for someone from a specific faith or belief group.  It includes information about practices around death and dying for 13 different groups (Baha'i, Brahma Kumaris, Buddhism, Chinese faiths, Christianity, Mormon, Hinduism, Humanism, Islam, Jehovah's Witnesses, Judaism, Paganism, Sikhism).  It's important to emphasise however that the golden rule is always "ask the patient, and if the patient can no longer speak for themselves, the next of kin", because so many people nowadays have links to a particular faith or belief but may not practise it in the way the book describes.  Since we are all about person-centred care, we need to treat each person individually even if they identify with a particular group.  More often than not, family don't adhere to the rituals around death and dying as described in the book! Sometimes they have no idea what practices their loved one's faith group has, so that's where the contact list comes in handy as I can phone the appropriate faith leader who will then visit and/or advise the family what to do.”