Hospital prayer room for gravely ill children plastered with LGBT flags

[IwantToRetire]

A hospital prayer room for gravely ill children and their families has been plastered with LGBT flags amid claims that the NHS is being hijacked by transgender ideology.

As part of a new inclusivity drive, a “sanctuary” at Edinburgh’s “Sick Kids” hospital, designed as a quiet space for those suffering trauma and grief, was taken over by symbols representing dozens of sexualities and genders.

The “spiritual care” facility previously described as offering room for “quiet reflection, prayer or meditation” was also rebranded a “chill-out zone” for Pride month, with rainbow-coloured signage directing patients and relatives to it.

The move has outraged some staff and family members of poorly children, with one clinician claiming a leading children’s hospital had been turned into a “social issues battlefield”.

Meanwhile, the family of a terminally ill toddler said they were no longer able to use the room to find comfort in their faith as it had become a “display of activism” which contradicted the teachings of mainstream religions.

The chaplaincy service at the hospital, one of the UK’s leading centres for paediatric care, is run by Maxwell Reay, a transgender man and activist who belongs to a fringe Christian congregation in Edinburgh.

Mr Reay, who has described being trans as a “gift from God”, is facing claims that he has breached rules which state hospital chaplains should not seek to impose their own beliefs when offering spiritual care.

Extracts from a Telegraph article reprinted in full by yahoo news https://uk.style.yahoo.com/hospital-prayer-room-gravely-ill-165852417.html

Scotland sure looks like it is trying to out pride everyone else!

Surely that space should be as neutral as possible?

I'll tell you what this sounds like to me. It sounds like someone who absolutely hates deeply religious people, to the point that they want them to be surrounded by symbols of something that will distress and upset them while their child is gravely ill, maybe dying. I can't imagine doing that to anyone, not even a member of ISIS or one of Putin's henchmen. (I might arrest them for war crimes, but I'd like to think if they had a dying child I'd do it sensitively.)

I think there are two issues. One is the addition of flags which make a political point and have no place in a sanctuary.

But the second is that grieving parents are going to a space to reflect and grieve and it's labelled as a 'chill out' room. Who the fuck thinks that appropriate? And what sort of chaplain puts their own need to do this ahead of parents. Parents who face losing their child.

This is ridiculous and that chaplain has no place in a hospital

I assume they are a member of some ‘off-field’ part of the church.

They should be pulled up for having absolutely no compassion or understanding for families in grief… it’s all about them and their particular hobby horse.

Who the heck first thinks ‘must push the agenda in the room set aside for grief and make it look like a lovely circus tent’ before ‘this room is for grieving families and must be a calm, welcoming and serene space, where I can listen to them, give them comfort and take their anger and distress…’

The thinking seems to be ‘how can we get the rainbows into every occasion?’ Me me me me me.

Putin is deeply religious ironically but I agree couldn't see even him doing this.

Reflection & prayer spaces should be absolutely neutral. It's a children's hospital. Children should never be subjected to political messaging.

Yes @Chrysanthemum5 that's grossly insensitive. Coming down from an acid trip can be a bit stressful. But you can't 'chill out ' when you're child is dying.

You want to be in a place of prayer , meditation or contemplation to reflect on a tragic life changing event.

Not the bad trip tent at some third rate festival.

I'm an atheist but if I was in the situation that these parents are in then I would probably be making use of this room just to get a tiny bit of quiet. It's not appropriate for it to be turned into a space for advertising any idealogy. I notice that the hospital welcomes feedback, I would suggest that people give them that feedback in the strongest, plainest terms. And on the vicar, surely a person could have been found from a mainstream church? Maybe a nice Quaker, or a church minister who could provide some calm, comforting words?

I know Quakers don't have vicars BTW. I'm trying to think of a calming environment.

Person who has decided to spend their life pretending to be something they’re not displays poor judgment in their professional life too.

astonishing solipsism even in a crowded field

I worked for the church for a while and you would see families coming to the church for comfort, and sadly I did see parents of children when their little ones were ill or had died. They weren’t necessarily part of the congregation or even Christians.

Vicars can be amazingly understanding and patient. They listen and comfort. They are ‘there for’ the grieving relatives, and give practical advice (on funerals, services etc). They can reassure families that they haven’t caused this, or that they could have ‘done more’. They are there to comfort and be on call - all hours of the day and even night - to listen.

Sometimes it’s because it’s a ‘familiar’ setting for some, or because they know that this is a person they can speak to, rant at, cry… when they don’t have anyone else to go to.

when dad was at the end - a lifelong atheist (and the vicar knew this) - he enjoyed his weekly visits from the vicar. They discussed science, theology, philosophy over a cup of tea.

Well they CAN be like this.

The ‘chill out’ circus tent would
not comfort anyone. I’m amazed there wasn’t a puppet show…

Surely these are multi-faith rooms? Many religions are not OK with homosexuality. Personally, I find that abhorrent, but I also believe that people are free to hold whatever views they want, as long as they don't inflict them on others. It's totally inappropriate to confront parents of sick children with material they may find offensive.

If one of those dying children was gay wouldn't it show peace and acceptance that if the parents are religious their child will be welcomed on their future journey?

A neutral room would suffice
A neutral chaplain would suffice
We're talking about children here. Personally I don't think sexuality and children mix. Relationships, love, families of all sorts, yep all fine. But pride is about all sorts of things that really should be kept to adults or older children

It doesn't surprise me at all tbh. I work for the NHS in Scotland try my best to avoid all of the nonsense. It creeps in though.

Creeps being the operative word.

Even in an adult hospital this would not be appropriate

sexuality is not religion

and as PP’s have noted, ‘chilling out’ is unlikely to be what you want to do when in hospital dealing with serious illness

So is Edinburgh’s “sick kids” hospital a completely separate hospital on its own site? Or is it a wing of a larger hospital?

Even if it were a wing of a larger hospital, there’d be a question mark over the appropriateness of introducing external campaign groups’ banners and logos into the building during one of their annual campaign periods, especially a campaign that has got nothing to do with medical benefits such as cancer research or stop smoking.

But to bring publicity materials of a campaign group focused on sexuality, whose most high profile public campaign event is a “feel free to attend wearing fetish gear” weekend party, into a children’s hospital really does highlight how the activists for one of the letters seem to have very little grasp of, or concern for, what’s appropriate and what’s inappropriate.

“Chill out room” is disgustingly inappropriate. It’s a hospital for sick children, not a night club. FFS.

One of my DC is gay, (the other is bi) and I'm Christian.
I don't need rainbow flags to know God will accept them.
The flags in that setting are completely inappropriate.

Yes it operates as its own standalone hospital treating children only. It's been built next to the hospital for adults but it's only for children.

I agree the concept and naming of 'chill out' room is utterly disgusting. Reflection room, contemplation room, chaplaincy room. Any of these would be fine. Chill Out Room is something you have at a festival.

I can't think how I'd behave if faced with this at the worst possibly time of my life, if one of my children was dying. Unbelievable.

The sick kids is on its own building ( there is an adult dept also there). It's in the same grounds at the Royal Infirmary plus the Anne Rowling Centre ( yes JK Rowling funded). The windows in the stairwell are also "decorated" with trans flag, another stripey flag, and the words happy pride. I am as GC as they come but the piss poor quality of these offends me more plus it makes the stairwell darker.

“Happy Pride”, too? In a hospital for sick children?

Who thought this was acceptable? Where are their brains, their empathy, their sense of what’s appropriate for the most serious and potentially saddest of places??

What if the parents are from a religion that says homosexuality is wrong?
I am not saying I agree with that viewpoint but the room should be as religiously and ideologically neutral as possible so ALL parents see it as a place of refuge.

Isn't here any line, just one, that you activists won't cross?

What you fail to understand is that anyone who objects is a bigot and needs to be called out. What better time than when a child is gravely ill or dying.
How these arseholes think they have the moral high ground is beyond me.

I shudder to imagine the experience of parents of gravely ill children. The anguish must be relentless.
Think about the sort of space they might need when nothing can actually help but a few moments of calm might be needed to live through what is facing them.
What an astonishing lack of empathy and kindness.

This is despicable. How is it allowed?

If I had a seriously sick child and walked into this, it could seriously push me over the edge.

It's the opposite of feeling cared for.

‘Trans ness is a gift from God’

maybe, but which God?