The embedded model suggested is currently functioning in several UK practices and being rolled out into local clusters.1 These practices have a chaplain fully integrated within their multidisciplinary teams providing spiritual care in line with the biopsychosocial-spiritual model2 and modern-maladies approach.3
Research has shown that such chaplaincy provision improves spiritual wellbeing to a similar extent as antidepressants while reducing GP consultation rates.4,5 These results justify the place of chaplaincy within our MDTs at this time of workload realignment.
Chaplaincy has also been shown to be responsive to multimorbidity and undifferentiated illness, both of which are core presentations that the expert medical generalist encounters.5 Such generalists are ideally placed to refer on to the specialist chaplain within the MDT.
Snowden has developed a patient-reported outcome measure (PROM) to both facilitate spiritual conversations and measure the impact of spiritual interventions.6
It is agreed that there is an ongoing need for training but the above evidence suggests the tide is turning on spiritual care and assessing its impact in general practice in the UK.
Competing interests
Gordon W Macdonald is lead for chaplaincy provision in Regent Gardens Medical Practice.
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