Health Care and Associated Issues

The demand for health care in all its forms is going to increase dramatically over the next twenty years.  This fact has been acknowledged by our own Government and is recognised in all European countries.  Many Religious Congregations are experiencing the realities of this situation.  Whether the provision of health care is within the community, as at present envisaged, or in residential and nursing homes is a matter of debate but there will always be a number of people for whom health care in the community is not appropriate.  These considerations apply as much to the Religious as to the population generally, perhaps more so as the expectation of life for Religious is greater than in the general population with the inevitable increase in the necessity for care.  The need for care for such conditions as Alzheimers disease, although not itself exclusively a complaint associated with age, will tend to be greater in an elderly population.

Phillip Jukes Consultants have been addressing these issues since 1972 when the first of our pension schemes for Religious was established.  The pension scheme has been of great benefit to many Congregations not only in providing funds at the time when most needed but also in focusing on the whole issue of caring for an ageing population.

The financial implications of old age are now well known in both Religious and secular life.  The issue of how to meet the challenge from a practical point of view has been less well aired.

We believe that it is vitally important to maintain the existing Catholic health care missions if at all possible and we have been involved in many projects where this has been the main objective.  We have been able to transfer  the responsibilities of running Religious hospitals, nursing homes and residential homes to secular management whilst retaining the Catholic ethos, often with the Congregation retaining a Chaplaincy role and a community on site.

We have also advised on the establishment of new Catholic health care facilities using buildings, owned by Religious, which had ceased to be of use for their original role.  We have put together the financial arrangements and have overseen the building operations in many such cases.  We have negotiated and overseen the adding of a dedicated wing to an existing Catholic nursing home for the exclusive use of a group of elderly Religious from another Order.  We have also assisted some larger Congregations in the building of their own “Nursing Convents” for the exclusive use of their own members.

In addition to the practical actions detailed above we have established a data base of the age profiles and life expectancy of the members of many Religious Orders which has enabled us to produce reasoned forecasts of costs into the future.  These forecasts have been essential in formulating plans for meeting the challenge of providing a meaningful role for elderly and retired Religious from both a financial and a practical point of view.

We cannot promise that every problem has an ideal solution but we do believe that every problem has a solution which can sometimes open up new and previously unforeseen potential.

We make no charge for an initial discussion and are always pleased to share our experiences and the knowledge gained from them, with others.

If you would like any further information on any of the above issues please contact:
Francis Ravenscroft           e-mail: FR@pjukes.co.uk  Tel. 01420 80135