COMING into hospital can be a distressing and anxious time and sometimes patients are in need a little TLC for the soul as well as the body.

In times of crisis in Oxfordshire's hospitals this is where the chaplaincy service comes in, offering emotional support to countless patients as well as their families.

The Rev Canon Dr Margaret Whipp leads a 10-strong ecumenical and inter-faith team of Christian and Muslim chaplains on hand to help, regardless of your faith.

Chaplains are based at all three Headington sites run by Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust as well as the Horton General Hospital in Banbury.

Rev Whipp herself can most often be found at the Churchill Hospital, especially in the oncology, haematology or upper gastrointestinal departments, where patients may be embarking on long and difficult procedures and in need of confidential support.

She said: "I’ll introduce myself and say I’m around for people to chat to if they want it.

"It’s surprising how many people, when you get to know them, are glad that somebody who’s not part of the treatment team is really taking an interest in who they are.

"With the best will in the world, the most compassionate clinical team don’t have the time to get to know people and get to the heart of what causes their distress."

Unlike many of her pastoral colleagues Rev Whipp began training as a consultant at Oxford, later working in oncology and palliative medicine in Sheffield and Durham.

She said: "Because I was interested in the pastoral dimension of the work I trained for ordination and studied theology.

"For many years I did both in tandem and worked half time in the NHS and half time in the church.

"You’d wear your name badge saying ‘Revd Dr’ in the clinic and patients would say ‘Are you a doctor of the soul or the body'?."

Ten years ago Rev Whipp gave up practicing medicine to devote herself to theology and church work, including training other people for the ministry.

She has been a full-time hospital chaplain at OUH for three years and sees about 40 patients a week along with families and loved ones.

There are always two chaplains on call around the clock at OUH who could be called out to the Emergency Department in the middle of the night if need be.

Rev Whipp said: "Often it's in A&E where people are very shocked at what has happened to them. We do a lot of work in the Intensive Care Unit.

"It's also often people struggling with long-term conditions; if patients with cancer has run into a bad patch you are someone that knows them.

"Five or six times a week we’ll be giving blessing prayers for someone who has just died. We’re also often called, sadly, to the maternity unit for little baby deaths."

The chaplaincy also offers support to staff, either in the form of one-to-one chats or formal sit-down debriefings when a whole team has been affected by an incident.

Rev Whipp said: "There are formal channels of staff support but sometimes, if people feel a little labelled by that, they can have a discreet conversation in a corridor.

"Our own spiritual wellbeing is an important part of our training because if you’re stressed, it rubs off on other people.

"Every year I go on long-distance pilgrimage walking – a combination of deep quiet and strong physical exercise."

Alongside her duties in Oxfordshire's hospitals Rev Whipp is a canon at Christ Church Cathedral and gives services at Exeter College.

She also continues to give services at her home church in Headington, using what free time she has to write books on pastoral theology.

According to Rev Whipp, the most common misconception patients have when offered the chaplaincy service is that it has to be a religious conversation.

She said: "People are wary of anything that looks religious. They often worry we are only there for people who have a particular religion, or to foist something on them.

"The most important thing is that people know us and trust us. People often say they have found a real sense of peace or reflection just by being able to share something."

For Rev Whipp the most rewarding conversations are those that have a 'lovely sense of timing' - including one in late January with a haematology patient.

She said: "I had been away for a few weeks and had just arrived on the ward on the moment where she was right about to have a stem cell transplant.

"She will be in this room now, in isolation, for a month and it was magical to come at that time and draw that together for her."

For more information on the chaplaincy service at OUH visit ouh.nhs.uk/patient-guide/chaplaincy.aspx