Church of England bishops are leading calls to protect NHS chaplains from proposals to have them removed from hospitals.

Secularist campaigners are arguing that the taxpayer should no longer fund chaplains at a time when the NHS is making cuts, the Daily Telegraph reports.

In an impassioned debate at the Church of England General Synod in London, bishops called for “every effort” to be made to preserve their position.

Last year, the National Secular Society published a report singling out hospital chaplains. It argued that they cost the NHS £29 million a year for “no clinical benefit”.

Speaking in the debate, the Rt Rev Mike Hill, Bishop of Bristol, said hospitals would be “poorer” places without chaplains and patients would be denied comprehensive care if their services were removed.

“Their services are offered not only to patients, but also to their relatives and to other health care staff, enhancing greatly the healing environment,” he said.

“As with much in life, the true value of our chaplains might only be appreciated if they were no longer present.

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

The Bishop of Carlisle, the Rt Rev James Newcome, said chaplains provided support and counselling at “crucial” moments in people’s lives.

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

A motion affirming “all who promote health and wholeness in body and spirit” in the NHS, including chaplains, was carried.

In a report last year, the National Secular Society said the NHS could afford 1,000 nursing assistants or a new community hospital every year if spending on chaplains was capped.

Guidelines from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence say dying patients should have access to religious or spiritual leaders. They stipulate that doctors should draw up individual “death plans” to ensure patients die with dignity, including having religious support.

Meanwhile, the General Synod is also set to debate a motion supporting the right of Christians to live out their faith publicly.

The Rt Revd Donald Allister, the Bishop of Peterborough has that Christians should not be punished for open displays of their faith.

Over 100 members of the Church of England General Synod have given their backing to the motion, as well as three bishops, according to The Sunday Telegraph.