Reverend Eddy Inglis - Chaplain

A a counsellor at a secondary school and a minister with his own church, Reverend Eddy Inglis deals with bereavement on a regular basis.

However, in his newly-appointed role as chaplain of Willow Wood, some might believe death is a topic never far from his mind. But that isn't the case.

  Before I came here, I'd heard people say Willow Wood is a place for living, not dying. And it's true. I'm constantly surprised by the number of people who come here for palliative care and leave again.  

There are, of course, days when death is unavoidable. "You get very close to patients in a short space of time. Some want to talk about their lives, others about their fears. I get to know what's important there and then. Today I came in work to discover someone I was building up a relationship with had passed away and it's terribly upsetting."

Reverend Inglis, together with his fellow chaplains, is looking ahead to the future and how he can help the patients and their families further. He said: "The most important thing we're looking to do is to make the prayer room more inviting, at the moment it is a little bit sombre. We want to personalise care a little more. For some who aren't religious, they just want someone to talk to. Others however, would like more recognised services, things like communal services. These things do happen but not on a regular basis."