Church of England bishop bans hospital chaplains from the bedsides of sick and dying coronavirus patients amid fears they will spread infection
- The clergy have now been banned from volunteering at hospital chaplains
- Rt Rev Stephen Cottrell said members must maintain ‘extremely strict discipline’
- It comes after the Church of England banned all its services until further notice
The clergy have been banned from lending their services to patients suffering from the coronavirus due to the increased chance of spreading the deadly illness.
Bishops and those belonging to the Church of England have been warned against volunteering at hospital chaplains, even while wearing personal protective equipment, as the nation tries to control the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic.
In an impassioned plea to members of the church, the Bishop of Chelmsford, the Right Rev Stephen Cottrell, urged the clergy to take the medical advice given and help NHS staff on the frontline in other ways such as shopping.
The bishop, who was formerly the Bishop of Reading and is soon to become the next Archbishop of York, said the clergy would be banned from entering wards treating patients presenting with symptoms of the coronavirus.
Members of the Church of England have been banned from volunteering at hospital chaplains amid the coronavirus crisis. (Stock image)
In a letter to the clergy, the Bishop of Chelmsford, the Right Rev Stephen Cottrell (pictured), urged the clergy to take the medical given
In a letter seen by The Times, the Right Rev Stephen Cottrell, whose authority the capital’s newly transformed Nightingale Hospital falls, said members of the church needed to maintain ‘an extremely strict discipline regarding contact’.
The announcement comes as 13 members of the church were told it would be unsafe to lend their services to patients being treated by London’s Barts Health NHS Trust, which currently has only two Anglican chaplains that cover their five hospitals in the city.
Meanwhile deputy head of chaplaincy at St Barts Hospital, Tasha Critchlow, said the hospital would welcome those who could provide end-of-life care and solace to those dying.
She told The Times: ‘The hospital would welcome qualified professional volunteers who can give end-of-life care and provide solace.
‘We would train them and given them personal protective equipment (PPE).’
The announcement comes just weeks after the Church of England banned all its services until further notice due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The ban comes just weeks after the Church of England banned all its services until further notice due. (Stock image)
Following the Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s lockdown announcement of March 23, the Church of England Archbishops told clergy across the UK that they were to shut down both private worship and public services ‘with immediate effect’ to help stop the spread of the infection.
In a statement the Church of England said: ‘All Church of England churches are to close with immediate effect, including for private prayer, in an effort to help limit the transmission of the coronavirus Covid-19.
‘The archbishops and bishops of the Church of England have written collectively to clergy, through their dioceses, urging them now to close all church buildings – other than where they are needed to keep a foodbank running, but even then under strict limits.
‘There will be no church weddings until further notice; funerals will not take place inside church buildings and the only baptisms will be emergency baptisms in a hospital or home.
‘It follows the announcement by the Prime Minister last night of wide-ranging restrictions as part of a national and international effort to help limit the spread of the disease.’
The latest move comes as the nation continues to control the surge in coronavirus cases which has now hit 55,242.
Yesterday health officials also confirmed that 7,095 people in the country have now died from Covid-19.