THE new chaplain at University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust (UHMBT) has set out his vision for the role.

Ian Dewar took up the post in May, after recovering from Coronavirus (Covid-19), saying then: “It was great to be back and seeking, wherever possible, to help meet the spiritual needs of people.”

Mr Dewar trained at Durham University and was in parish life for 13 years before working in Chaplaincy.

He said: “I’m fascinated to be the new Lead Chaplain of the Trust at a time when there are sharper and deeper questions about the NHS, our health and how we are living our lives.

“It is a great privilege to step up to the role. I spent a number of years working with the previous Lead Chaplain, Rev Jane Tyrer and Debbie Wilde, our Chaplain at Furness General Hospital in Barrow, raising the profile of the Chaplaincy Team through our annual Health Festival and other initiatives.

“Now Debbie and I have a chance to build on that work. We are also in the process of looking for a new site Lead Chaplain for the Westmorland General Hospital in Kendal.

“One of my aims is to rethink traditional Chaplaincy. I think we need to create a safe place for ‘slow questions’. Very often people have little time for looking at the big questions.

"Sometimes just asking the questions is important. There need to be much deeper conversations between the health care world and the wider community. What we need most just now is space for meaningful conversations."