Anointing of the Sick in the Intensive Medicine Unit - Last Greeting or Call for Help

Abstract

The right of a conscious and competent patient to self-determination and the ability to make decisions about their own treatment affects the treatment outcome decisively. The patient’s acceptance or rejection of the treatment options the doctor offers directs active medical interventions towards one of the goals: curing the disease or reducing suffering. In accordance with the provisions of the Health Care Act, every person has the right to practice religious rites during their stay in a hospital in the area provided for that purpose. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the functioning of the health system was changed. The need for isolation has led to a ban on visits and limited patients’ communication with their families and loved ones, which was only possible using cell phones. Priests were allowed access, but with all infection prevention measures regarding medical staff. In that environment, the Anointing of the Sick remained the only active intervention that the ill person’s family was able to do for their loved ones. For the family of the critically ill, the entry of a priest into a “forbidden space” is a spiritual act in which the priest can communicate with the sick in the role of an emissary of the family. He can also perform instrumental interventions by the act of anointing with blessed oil, with a desire for healing. The aim of this text is to outline some of the aspects of isolating critically ill patients from their families and the role of the Anointing of the Sick in this situation.