Princess Margaret Hospital Ex Trainees and Nursing Associates Inc dedicated a stained glass artwork to the centre, which was unveiled on 21 September 2018. Photo: Matthew Lau.
By Matthew Lau
The staged opening of Perth Children’s Hospital (PCH) in May, also marked the closure of Princess Margaret Hospital for Children (PMH) after more than 100 years of operation.
The new Multi-faith Centre, situated on the fifth floor of PCH, is a facility tailored to meet the spiritual needs of patients, families, and staff – regardless of religious affiliation or background.
Chaplains are available around the clock to provide pastoral and spiritual care; Fr Vinod Thomas Mankuthel is on-call as the Catholic chaplain for PCH in Nedlands.
Anglican priest Rev’d Robert Anderson is Head of Pastoral Care Services at both King Edward Memorial Hospital for Women and PCH, where he has worked as a chaplain for over 31 years.
He is proud of the Multi-faith Centre, which incorporates a Christian chapel and Muslim Prayer Room, as well as quiet space for meditation and reflection.
“We have a really rich history with Catholic chaplaincy from the days of PMH, transitioning through to PCH,” Rev’d Anderson told The eRecord.
“We always have had access to a Catholic chaplain, and in addition, we’ve had religious sisters [mainly Mercy Sisters] who provided a ministry with us right up to this year.”
Rev Robert Anderson at PCH’s Multi-faith Centre. Photo: Matthew Lau.
The Catholic Church and the Anglican Church, he said, were the two Churches that birthed hospital chaplaincy in WA back in the 1970s.
“I think what they commenced, in the ways that were done in those days, has provided the seeding of the services that have now grown.
“That’s a rich legacy, and I think it’s terrific that the Government has recognised that, and we are now Government-funded services, as an integrated part of healthcare,” he added.
“This is what has flourished out of those beginnings in the early years, which is a great tribute to the Catholic Archdiocese and the Anglican Diocese.”
The Multi-faith Centre’s bookshelf stocks a variety of religious texts. Photo: Matthew Lau.
Princess Margaret Hospital Ex Trainees and Nursing Associates Inc commissioned a stained glass artwork, unveiled and dedicated on 21 September, to honour the nurses of PMH and PCH 1909 to 2018.
“With the developing numbers of faiths in our country, with the 130-plus religious traditions in WA, and with the 200 different languages and dialects in WA, this is a large, multicultural, multifaith society.
“It’s important that our facilities reflect that, particularly in a Government institution,” Rev Anderson explained.
An average of 20 to 25 people use the centre on any given day.
“There are some specific worship needs that some faiths have demonstrated – one of those, of course, is the Christian faith.
“That is why we’ve always, historically, had Christian chapels and why there are strong Christian symbols around the Multi-faith Centre.
“There are more individual than corporate worship needs now as things have grown and the Multi-Faith Centre can meet those,” Rev Anderson concluded.