The updated rules mean hospital managers must now ensure a service is in place that meets the needs of atheists, with previous guidance only focussed solely on supporting religious people.
Revd Dr Chris Swift who was responsible for updating the rules in consultation with the Chaplaincy Leadership Forum and the National Equality and Health Inequalities Team, NHS England told Premier's News Hour that the changes were needed to reflect society's needs, speaking on Premier's 'News Hour', he said: "We have Muslim and Sikh and other certainly Jewish chaplains who are part of NHS chaplaincy.
"These guidelines really reflect the 2010 Equality Act, take that a little further and lay what I certainly feel is an appropriate emphasis on the spiritual needs of non-religious people in the NHS's care."
The British Humanist Association campaigned for the change. David Savage, Head of Pastoral Support and himself a provider of pastoral care to the non-religious as part of the volunteer chaplaincy team at Guys and St Thomas' Hospital said: "The new guidance puts patients first and focuses on their needs.
"As a result, we are delighted that pastoral and 'spiritual' support will now begin to be accessible to the large numbers of non-religious patients and staff across the NHS.
"The law is already clear that non-religious prisoners have the legal right to request a humanist pastoral care provider as an alternative to a religious chaplain. It is great that the same situation will now exist in healthcare settings."
Listen to Revd Dr Chris Swift here:
