Whilst volunteering as hospital chaplains one day, we found ourselves in the A&E ‘overflow area’. The staff pointed out a man with dementia who had been there for 24 hours; the nursing home had refused to take him back due to him being ‘aggressive’. The staff were happy for us to talk to him so that they could look after others in the department.

He sat in a chair, we talked and after a while it was time for us to go.

In the time it took to walk a few paces to the nurses station the gentleman had fallen asleep. The staff were amazed asking, “what did you do?”

Astounded, they then pointed out what had happened to a ‘manager’ who had just walked into the same area. We talked about the power of ‘peace’ and left the department with a settled patient and relieved staff!

– Sasha, Emergency Care Practitioner, Kent