Politics Swiss churches launch coordination office in the healthcare sector

The Swiss churches are launching a national ecumenical coordination office for pastoral care in the healthcare sector. It will represent the interests of the churches in the healthcare sector in a targeted and effective manner. The coordination office will begin its work in spring 2025.

The signatories include the Swiss Bishops' Conference (SBK), the Roman Catholic Central Conference of Switzerland (RKZ) and the Swiss Protestant Reformed Church (EKS). As health policy decisions are increasingly being made at federal level, this is prompting the churches to take a coordinated approach, according to a joint press release on Wednesday.

The aim of the coordination office is to incorporate the church's perspective into health policy strategies at an early stage and to promote cooperation between churches, authorities and institutions. Pastoral care should continue to be perceived as an indispensable part of the healthcare system, it continued. The focus is on topics such as dementia, palliative care, spiritual care and data protection.

SDA