Hospital first in UK to welcome Bishop

The Chaplaincy Team at University Hospitals Dorset (UHD) welcomed Bishop Kosea Odongo of Soroti, Uganda, to the Royal Bournemouth Hospital (RBH).

Bishop Kosea leads the Anglican diocese of Soroti in Uganda, making him the spiritual leader of hundreds of thousands of Ugandan Christians.

He spent time with his wife, Grace, at RBH’s new multi-faith space within the Chaplaincy Centre at the start of July, and also enjoyed a walkabout on-site to talk with staff.

He said: “I have been particularly interested to learn about Chaplaincy provision within the NHS during my first visit to an acute hospital in the United Kingdom, and I thank the staff members here for making myself and Grace feel so welcome.

“I have learnt a great deal in a short amount of time, and look forward to taking this back to colleagues both in my diocese, and in the Soroti Regional Referral Hospital, where we hold prayers for both staff and patients.”

Bishop Kosea and his wife Grace with members of UHD'S Chaplaincy and Organisational Development teams 

James Taylor, Lead Chaplain at UHD, co-ordinated the visit. He said: “Bishop Kosea stressed the importance of inclusion, speaking of welcoming other denominations and faiths into their new chapel space in Soroti."

"We discussed the similarities and differences of our work, and he reflected candidly on the inequalities of funding for treatment in the Ugandan system, as well as the shadow that civil war still casts over many.” 

“It was a pleasure to welcome the Bishop to RBH, and for myself and my colleagues in the Chaplaincy Team to be able to show him the vital work we do here, which he greatly appreciated. We look forward to a return visit to Soroti in the near future!”