Strong roots, new shoots

It was as a student that Stephen first drew alongside older people, helping lead worship in a care home and visiting those who were housebound. “I found I enjoyed their company,” he says, “One way or another, I’ve been involved in ministry to older people ever since.”

Beginning his career as a mathematician, Stephen worked in the banking industry for 17 years before being appointed a director of Tearfund in 2000. He then moved to UK Community Foundations in 2005. A key priority for the charity was tackling loneliness in a later life.

When he saw the advert for the role of Chief Executive of Pilgrims’ Friend Society which mentioned an ambition to connect care homes with their local communities, he felt it was a role he had been prepared for, both spiritually and professionally.

Stephen’s commitment to deepening connections with local communities has never wavered. However, when he first stepped into the role at Pilgrims’ Friend Society, he realised other matters needed urgent attention.

“I remember being told at the interview not to worry about the care homes, that they were running fine. However, when I got to see them, that wasn’t quite right. The work being done was very good, yes, but I was surprised by how old and unsuited a number of our buildings had become to the needs of the people living there.”

With the population ageing rapidly – in 10 years’ time there will be 13 million people in the UK who are aged over 65 – it was clear to Stephen that the demand for care homes was only set to increase, and that as more people live in care homes for longer, these homes need to be tailored to the needs of the frailest, enabling them to live well.

Of course, the reason to ensure we have great buildings is to facilitate the delivery of great care. Over the past 10 years Stephen has also overseen the development of a more unified approach to care across Pilgrims’ Friend Society.

“A lot of very good work was going on in our homes but it was largely down to people’s best efforts rather than a joined-up approach that took into account the latest thinking in care, particularly with regard to dementia where things have moved on enormously in recent decades,” he says.

Lynn Hall, an Operations Manager for Pilgrims’ Friend Society (who sadly passed away in September last year), led the way in researching the latest thinking in personcentred care, applying it to a Christian context. This led to the development of The Way We Care, the charity’s bespoke approach to caring for older people holistically, taking into not just physical but also emotional and spiritual needs. The approach has now been rolled across our organisation, with a The Way We Care Lead to train and guide staff in each home.

Five years into his role at Pilgrims’ Friend Society, Stephen faced the phenomenon that was the COVID-19 pandemic. Looking back at this anxious time, he vividly recalls the Sunday in March 2020 when the first case in the UK of someone with no link to abroad was announced, and how the faith of the older people living with us shone through.

“I was on my way to Shottermill House to lead a service when the news came on the radio. The person was in fact a patient at the Haslemere Health Centre, the same surgery where many people living in the home are registered.”

After pausing to stop for a coffee and weigh up the risks, Stephen decided to carry on to the home as planned. “When the news was shared, those in the home were concerned for others in their community and wanted to pray for them. In the media, older people were being portrayed as these poor people in care homes. But they were deeply unconcerned for themselves. This is the generation that lived through the Second World War. One chap remembered his parents telling him about the impact of the Spanish flu. They wanted to pray for others and weren’t concerned about themselves at all.”