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Out and about with the NMSF
The New Masonic Samaritan Fund
continues to fund medical treatment across
the length and breadth of England and
Wales (and even further on occasion).
With expenditure in support of those in
need in excess of £3 million a year, and with
50% of the grants made being in support of
the wives, widows and dependants of
Masons, the Fund also tries to provide
support to all areas of the body.
However, the majority of requests for
support continue to be in respect of
orthopaedic procedures. Whilst non lifethreatening,
these conditions are extremely
debilitating and often result in a very long
wait for treatment via the NHS.
Two recent examples serve to illustrate
the real change to the lives of individuals that
are possible through the work of the NMSF.
The assistance from the NMSF brought
forward treatment for Mason Edward
Hitchcox by as much as 18 months. He is
now back at work after surgery to replace
both knee joints, and continues to make
good progress every day.
The photograph shows him standing
proudly beside the 08.45 from Kings
Cross to Glasgow before driving it as far
as Newcastle.
The support provided has transformed
him from, in his words ‘someone who could
barely walk to his front gate, to someone
who now finds other pedestrians are holding
him up’.
Following a hip replacement operation,
funded by the NMSF, Mrs Patricia Smith is
now able to walk her dog across the fields of
Pwllheli and is looking forward to being able
to sort out the garden again.
If you know someone who has a medical
need and is faced with a long wait for
treatment via the NHS, please make sure
that they know about the New Masonic
Samaritan Fund.
They can only help when they know
help is needed. Although the Fund can make
it happen, only you can make it possible.
NMSF support continues
Following very generous support from the
Grand Charity, the NMSF was able to embark
on a two-year trial to determine the need for
support in two previously unfunded areas.
During this period funds have been
available to support the drug treatment of
cancer and degenerative diseases. Thanks
largely to improvements within the NHS,
in particular with regard to the ‘post-coding’
lottery, demand for support has not been as
high as was expected.
However, a significant number of
applicants have been able, throughout the
trial period, to gain access to the drugs they
require as a direct result of the co-operation
between the Grand Charity and the NMSF.
Although the trial period has now
finished, the NMSF will continue to offer
support to any individuals who meet the
qualifying criteria. Anyone who has been
diagnosed as in need of, but is unable to gain
access to, drug treatment in support of a
cancer or degenerative disease-related
condition should contact the Fund as soon
as possible.
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Edward Hitchcox – back on track
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