Mags Gargan“Red tape gone mad” is now preventing priests and other religious ministers making hospital visits from finding out if any of their parishioners have been admitted.
Traditionally clergy could access a ‘religious list’ at hospital receptions which gave patients’ names, addresses and religions so that they could ascertain if any parishioners had been admitted. Over the last number of years hospitals across Ireland have begun to withdraw this service because of data protection concerns.
Fr Mark Mohan, parish priest of Ballivor-Kildalkey in Co. Meath was refused access to the list in Navan hospital last week.
“It’s red tape gone mad,” he told The Irish Catholic. “I found out afterwards that a local man of 85 was in hospital and I could have visited him if I had seen the list.
“It’s a disgrace that they are preventing priests from visiting parishioners in hospital.
“I try to go to hospital once a week as a way of contacting those who might like to see a priest when they get sick. People so much appreciate that parish priests can visit during the working day.”
It is believed that Our Lady’s Hospital in Navan is one of the last hospitals to introduce the new procedures, which a spokesperson for the HSE said was as a result of “data protection legislation”.
A pity
“I do think it is a pity we have come to this as a society that a priest going about his pastoral duties with concern for parishioners can’t walk into a hospital and freely visit his parishioners but that’s where we are now,” said Fr Declan Hurley, parish priest in Navan and hospital chaplain.
“I can’t go around the wards asking patients their denominations,” said Canon John Clarke, part-time Church of Ireland chaplain in Navan. “It is the biggest nonsense since I started my ministry 25 years ago and makes it impossible to do your job properly.”