Assessment tools: are they an effective approach to implementing spiritual health care within the NHS?

Over the last 25 years, many nursing and palliative care journals have carried articles on the subject of 'spiritual' health care. The following is a review of National Health Service (NHS) guidelines and the work of various writers who have contributed to the debate on 'spirit' and 'spiritual needs' from within sociology, palliative care and nursing studies. However, 'spiritual' in the current usage should not be confused with 'religious' and is part of an understanding of what is known as holistic nursing (Dossey et al. 1995). This paper will examine what is meant by 'spiritual' and religious needs and what is indicated by the words 'spiritual' and 'spirit'; and some of the implications for a health care team will be considered. The place of assessment tools in 'spiritual' health care, and the role of the NHS chaplain in the assessment and provision of 'spiritual' health care will be examined.