Children’s Hospital: The Chaplains

Reflecting on the BBC Two Television Series

Abstract

This article reflects on the experience of the chaplaincy team at Birmingham Children’s Hospital who were filmed for a six part series by the BBC, a national broadcaster in Great Britain. It draws on feedback from the chaplains, patients and families filmed, other staff who were not filmed, the BBC, social media and unsolicited feedback from a range of sources. It addresses the benefits (education and awareness raising, inspirational, promotional, confidence building, opportunity to reflect) and drawbacks (limited view of chaplaincy, impact on the team, impact on the work) of the programme learning from it and offers recommendations to consider for others who may be approached about a similar opportunity.