From Dr Crucefix to amongst the best in the land: an exploration of Freemasons’ care for the elderly

The way Freemasonry cares for those getting on in years has changed significantly since the opening of the ‘Asylum for Worthy, Aged, and Decayed Freemasons’ in Croydon almost 175 years ago.

“Things were a little less politically correct in those days,” says John Boyington of the work of Dr Robert Crucefix, who was behind that first development.

John is current Chair of Trustees at the RMBI Care Company, which has 16 homes as far north as Newcastle and as far south as Exeter, with 17% rated as outstanding, against a national average of 3.5%.

But in spite of that, John says there’s a need for change, ultimately leading to no need for support from the Freemasons’ charity the MCF by the end of the decade. He said: “On the one hand we need to provide this care, but the costs keep going up and we can’t keep dragging the money out of Freemasons’ pockets.” His ambition was to see the same levels of care provided, but by standing alone financially.

“Our services are not widely available to beneficiaries who do not live close to one of our homes. There will be an increasing need for care and support for older Freemasons and their families into the future, whilst charitable funds are under much greater pressure,” he said.

“We can build new services which generate surpluses to invest in meeting of our objectives, and use these surpluses not only to cover reducing charitable support, but also to deliver much more to the community of Freemasons both in range of support and in geographical spread.”

Those ambitions have so far resulted in the sale of some homes, whilst making sure residents were nevertheless cared for, the opening of one new care home, and development of plans for another.

Some existing care homes were in unsuitable buildings, such as one created in a former maternity home. “Our new homes are designed to need fewer members of staff because of their layout and the adoption of technology,” said John.

A great deal of the ‘Covid journey’, when patients with the illness were discharged into care homes, had seen survival of 85% of the 850 patients who contracted it. That was the result of dedication of staff, for whom John was full of praise. He’s frustrated by the notion that working in the care sector is ‘unskilled’, which he said was far from the truth. RMBI Care Company staff receive lots of training, and stay longer in their jobs because they’re better paid than many others in the sector, and work in pleasant environments.

“Out staff are fantastic,” he said. “They do so much for the residents, like organising a video link to the wedding of one resident’s great granddaughter, or getting a flight in a Spitfire for another. They’re the people who make our care as special as it is.”

But it’s not just the quality of the buildings or the high standards of care delivered by staff – the RMBI relies on support from another area. “Our care wouldn’t be as good as it is without the contribution of the Associations of Friends. They’re the people who make the difference between ‘good’ and ‘outstanding’ in our standards. We quite simply couldn’t do what we do without their help. For example, if the residents want a glass of wine with a meal – and why wouldn’t they – they can have it because of the Friends.”

The Province of Lincolnshire closely involved with the Friends supporting Connaught Court in York, alongside the two Provinces in Yorkshire. “It’s their contribution of the many little extras which help to make our homes so special,” he said.

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