Bishops in the Church of England have warned that the standard of care available to patients in NHS hospitals would be “poorer” without chaplains.

Secularists are campaigning for the removal of hospital chaplains on the grounds that they promote unequal care and cost too much.

In a report last year, the National Secular Society complained about the £29 million spent on hospital chaplains and argued that if the Church wants chaplains to visit hospitals then they should fund it themselves.

Addressing General Synod today, the Bishop of Carlisle the Rt Rev James Newcome rejected the charge that hospital chaplains are a waste of NHS money.

“They have a vital role to play in the delivery of healthcare in this country. Our chaplains provide both spiritual and religious care, ministering to patients, staff and relatives in hospitals and hospices throughout the land,” he said.

“Some critics, such as the NSS, have argued that chaplaincy is an expensive and unnecessary luxury. They are wrong on both counts.

“The cost of chaplaincy is a minute in proportion to the overall NHS budget and the role of chaplains is widely recognised by other healthcare professionals as making a very valuable contribution to the process of healing.”

The Bishop of Bristol, Rt Rev Mike Hill said that the true value of chaplains “might only be appreciated if they were no longer present”.

He said: “Every effort ought to be made, and is being made, to resist secularist calls for chaplains to be excluded from the NHS.

“Our hospitals would be poorer places without them and patients would be denied comprehensive care if their services were removed.”