Faith and Culture

Spiritual care, which includes but is not limited to religious care, must be provided in an equal and fair way for those of all faith communities or none. 

The Department of Spiritual and Religious Care staffed by a chaplaincy team, are a good source of knowledge and experience on how to serve the needs of a multi-faith population. 

When in doubt – ask the patient or their visitors

• How does the patient want to be looked after? 
• How do they want to be addressed?
• Not all cultures have a pre-name then a surname. 
• Remember, it is not always acceptable for men and women to shake hands when greeting. 
• There may be other faith communities and issues. 

Interpreting Services

It is essential to use these services if the patient has difficulty communicating their needs.

Information on Individual Faiths and Cultures

When you know a person’s faith community or group, please click the appropriate link.
Baha’i faith 

Brahma Kumaris 

Buddhism 

Chinese * 

Christianity 

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon) 

Hinduism 

Humanism 

Islam 

Jehovah’s Witnesses 

Judaism 

Paganism 

Sikhism

* Although ‘Chinese’ does not represent a religious community, there are familiar cultural issues involved. 

Emergency Marriage Ceremonies

An emergency civil marriage service can be arranged subject to certain conditions in conjunction with the Hospital Chaplain or Duty Site Manager (Bleep 4600).

Weston Area Health Trust are grateful to NHS Education for Scotland for their work which has been used to help produce this information.