Father Brian Nolan, Roman Catholic chaplain at Beaumont Hospital, Dublin, helps patients find peace
The chaplaincy at Beaumont Hospital is an inter-denominational ministry for people of all faiths and none. There are three full-time priests, one full-time sister and Church of Ireland, Methodist and Presbyterian ministers work on a part-time basis.
I do three 24-hour shifts a week and my day starts about 9 a.m. but I usually come in and have breakfast with the social workers at 8.15 a.m.. At 9 a.m. I run through the previous 24 hours with the chaplain who has finished his shift, looking at calls received or anyone who has become acutely ill or died.
We discuss which patients and family members need ongoing support. At 9.30 a.m we help the lay volunteers get organised to go around the hospital offering Holy Communion to everyone. There is a very strong lay ministry in the hospital and people live out their faith through doing this work.
I then go around one of the four floors of the hospital visiting patients. I may also have to answer emergency bleeps, have a teaching input into some of the post-graduate nursing courses or attend meetings. We have Mass at 1 p.m. which is open to everyone and then I have lunch.
I spend the afternoon on the wards, sitting with people and listening to their stories. It's amazing the number of people who call me over and ask me to say a prayer for them. People who may not be religious in the outside world want to chat as they have so much time to think while they are in hospital and they often feel totally vulnerable, helpless and out of control of their lives.
They may get upset or become a bit depressed because of unresolved issues so it's very therapeutic for them to talk. There's powerful healing in this alone. And sometimes, when there isn't a positive end result, there will still have been emotional and spiritual healing for patients and their families.
There is almost a missionary dimension to our work in the sense that people are open and they really appreciate our prayers and our presence.
It is very privileged work because people allow you into their hearts at a very vulnerable time for them. So up until about 5 p.m. I am on the wards or meeting people on the corridor or in the chapel which is a beautiful oasis of peace in a busy hospital.
At 5 p.m I do the removals - of which there are three or four on any given day. This is the last act of hospital service for patients and it's important to bring their stay to a dignified conclusion.
After 6 p.m. I run through the pre-operative list for the following day and go to see those who are about to have major surgery. Some of our most powerful work is done in the evening and at night as the hospital is quiet and the staff have more time to chat while the patients sleep.
It's exhausting work but you are never on your own and there is a wonderful sense of care and being supported from staff members. At 11.30 p.m. I visit all three intensive care units and the accident and emergency unit to get a picture of what the night might be like. I go to bed at about 1.30 a.m. but rarely get a full night's sleep. Usually, I'm called twice or three times in the night. In the morning, I get up at about 7 a.m. and visit all the intensive care units again, say a few prayers and get the office ready for the next chaplain on duty.
Sometimes you are devastated by what's happening in people's lives but in the middle of everything, there is a sense of making a difference. You've played an important role in their care and hopefully made God present. Being a chaplain here is the most incredible job I've ever had.
(Interview by Sylvia Thompson)