This year, our colleagues from Spiritual Health Victoria and Spiritual Care Australia have been facilitating an important process for spiritual care in healthcare. In June, they hosted a National Consensus Conference. Facilitated by Dr Norman Swan conference participants sought to develop a national strategy for spiritual care in three identified domains:
1. A nationally consistent governance framework to ensure quality and safety in spiritual care services
2. Viable and sustainable spiritual care models
3. Quality education and training
Participants heard from a number of speakers presenting the case for spiritual care and outlining the issues facing us in Australia. The results from a national survey on attitudes of a broad range of stakeholders to the role of spiritual care in health were presented. The conference produced a national agenda for the inclusion of spiritual care across the health system in Australia. This was a landmark Australian event seeking to influence hospitals to be places of healing and compassion for patients and staff. Read the full report here.