Service overview
Our Chaplaincy service is available for patients, their family, friends, and carers, and staff of all faiths, and those who don’t belong to a faith but are looking for comfort and guidance.
We’re here to listen, understand and give comfort during yours or your loved ones visit to us.
We’ll do our best to encourage your spirituality through music, meditation, prayer, or by being outside.
Accessing our service
You can request a visit from us by asking your ward staff, or by contacting Prospect Park Hospital reception, and we will do our best to see you within two days of your request.
If you require a chaplain from Hindu, Sikh, Muslim, or Jewish faith traditions in particular, please let us know.
Prospect Park Hospital
We provide resources to help you with prayer and meditation, available on request.
Christian services are held regularly, and wards will advertise when these will be happening.
There's also a sanctuary where all are welcome. It's accessible 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Holy Communion
We hold a Sunday service of Holy Communion at:
- West Berkshire Community Hospital, from 1.45pm (on a weekly basis)
- Wokingham Community Hospital, from 10.45am (on a fortnightly basis)
We provide chaplaincy services at:
- Prospect Park Hospital
- West Berkshire Community Hospital
- Wokingham Hospital
- Upton Hospital
- St Mark's Hospital
- King Edward VII
Chaplaincy stories
“Your visits have helped me find hope again when I thought I had none left.”
“There’s a lot of damnation in the Bible but what you offer is all about the love.”
“These meetings (with the chaplain) have been the most useful thing in my recovery, because they have taken both my mental health and my spirituality seriously. I haven’t had to leave one part of me behind to get what I need. It was very freeing to be able to talk fully and openly about my psychosis and my faith, and this integration wasn’t coming from anywhere else.”
Chaplaincy booklet
Download our booklet containing prayers and words of comfort from different religious traditions.
Chaplaincy and Spiritual Care booklet
File size: 4.51MB
Your e-Health Passport
Your e-Health Passport lets us know what's important to you - from your preferred name and pronouns to how you'd like us to support you and communicate with you.
Learn moreContact us and FAQs
Prospect Park Hospital
Prospect Park Hospital is our main site for people in Berkshire with mental health conditions. We have inpatient wards, including a specialist dementia ward, and a specialist unit for people with learning disabilities.
Contact number: 0118 960 5000
Post Address: Honey End Lane, Reading, Berkshire, RG30 4EJ
Prospect Park HospitalFrequently Asked Questions
How can hospital chaplains help?
They will:
- Listen to you
- Support you
- Provide mental health first aid when appropriate
- Offer prayers or sacraments
- Contact a leader of your own faith tradition, if you wish
- Signpost you to other sources of support
- Provide training to staff on the aspects of spiritual care
What won’t chaplains do?
They will not:
- Judge or criticise you
- Preach or force religion on you
- Pass on information unless you request it
- Outstay their welcome
Do I need to be religious to see a chaplain?
No.
Chaplains are trained to provide pastoral care and spiritual and emotional support to people of all faiths and to those without religious beliefs.
We can also help you with
Is there any information for friends, family and carers?
If you’re a family member/carer or you look after someone, there’s practical, financial, and emotional support available to you from a range of local communities and national organisations.
How do I request an interpreter?
We can provide language translation and interpretation support whenever you visit or contact us.
Tell our staff which language you prefer to use, and we will make sure the right communication support is in place for your assessment and treatment. Please let us know as early as possible so we can ensure the appropriate translation or interpreting support is available.
We offer a range of professional services to ensure everyone can understand and be understood:
- telephone interpreting
- video remote interpreting (VRI)
- face‑to‑face interpreting
- written translation
- British Sign Language (BSL) interpreting
How can I get information in an accessible format?
Anyone with a disability, impairment, or sensory loss has the right to receive information in a format that meets their needs. Under the Accessible Information Standard (AIS)—a legal requirement for all health and adult social care providers—we must ensure that people who use our services, including carers and families, can understand the information we provide and communicate effectively with us.
We can offer information in a range of accessible formats, including:
- British Sign Language (BSL)
- large print
- braille
- audio
- easy Read
- text message
- face‑to‑face support with a carer or advocate present
If you need information in any of these formats, please tell a member of our team and we will make sure your communication needs are met.
Are service dogs allowed to my appointment?
Yes. You are welcome to bring your registered service animal, such as a guide dog, hearing dog, medical alert dog, or other trained assistance dog to your appointment.
These animals are recognised as essential support and are permitted in most areas of our services.
To help us prepare, please let the team know before your appointment if you will be attending with a service animal. This allows us to make sure the environment is safe and comfortable for you, your animal, and other patients.
Please note that service animals may not be able to enter certain restricted clinical areas for safety or infection‑control reasons, but we will always work with you to find an appropriate alternative.
Treating our team with respect.
Respect is important.
We will be polite and kind and we expect that you treat our staff in the same way.
Abuse, hate and discrimination against our staff is unacceptable.
We will take strong action against anyone who is verbally, racially, physically, or sexually abusive to them.
This includes contacting the police to prosecute, and stopping future access to our healthcare services.
Related services
Talking Therapies
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Talking Therapies: Go to serviceExternal support
Samaritans
Samaritans is the charity that prevents suicide through the power of human connection. Connecting people in crisis with trained volunteers who will always listen.
Spiritual abuse
Learn about what is spiritual abuse and how to access online resources to help you.