Lourdes SPT. nurse volunteers. Kc D August The KCDSPT annual pilgrimage to. Information for potential

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1 The KCDSPT annual pilgrimage to Lourdes August 2016 Information for potential nurse volunteers Kettering & Corby Districts Sick Pilgrims Trust A registered charity no Kc D SPT

2 PAGE Before we go 2 What sort of needs do the people to be helped have? 3 Travelling to Lourdes 4 Where do we stay in Lourdes? 5 What do we do in Lourdes? 6 How much does it cost? 7 What is the Kettering & Corby Districts Sick Pilgrims Trust? 8 How can I help the Trust? 9 Where can I find more information? 10 How do I apply? 11

3 Before we go. Firstly, thank you for considering joining one of our pilgrimages. Our charity is totally reliant on volunteer nurses and our annual Lourdes pilgrimage would not be possible without people like you. It is a requirement of ACROSS, the charity that operates the jumbulance and looks after us in Lourdes, that all pilgrimages have at least one registered nurse, and we generally have two or three. We include a doctor in the party when we can, but often travel without one. The sick and disabled pilgrims (who are called VIPs) are selected for the pilgrimage by our nurse trustees. They try to ensure that the needs of the pilgrims can be safely met. All our nurse volunteers receive a copy of the application forms sent to ACROSS by the VIPs, which include a medical questionnaire completed by their GP and their currently prescribed medication. Our Head Nurse, Ann, will probably contact you before we travel to discuss the needs of particular VIPs and to give updates on their conditions. Generally, the medical details of the VIPs remains confidential to the team of nurses, but some details may be shared with the person s allocated helper if necessary. VIPs have the option of bringing someone with them on the pilgrimage. In many cases this will be their primary carer with experience of their care needs. We will have checked on the additional help these carers will require while we are away. Some VIPs will travel with someone who does not usually care for them, and will therefore need greater support. Some will not bring a companion 2

4 with them. Those with lesser needs will be allocated a volunteer helper to share their room, look out for their non-medical and care needs and to push their wheelchairs if required. Ann may allocate you one of the VIPs with greater needs, or if particularly demanding, this role will be shared among the nursing team. Even though you may be allocated a particular VIP, your help will also be needed for others in the group. We have a get together for all the pilgrims a couple of weeks before we travel so that you will be able to start to get to know people. To help create an informal holiday atmosphere, nurses are asked to dress casually and comfortably - so no uniforms please. Probably the most important role for nurses is to join in the activities and make the trip as safe and as enjoyable as possible for all the pilgrims - including the nurses. What sort of needs do the people to be helped have? The Trust was established so that people who were unable to fly to Lourdes, either with the Diocesan pilgrimage or with a national group like the Society of Our Lady of Lourdes, could still go on pilgrimage. Our selection criteria for potential pilgrims are Terminal illness or progressive disease Those confined to bed Wheelchair user Desire to travel to Lourdes 3

5 Degree of assistance and care required within our medical team s training and expertise Their carer s need for respite Ability to fit into a group Inability to travel another way Not been on jumbulance before Not suffering from claustrophobia The make up of the selected group is managed to ensure that the nurses and helpers can provide all pilgrims with a safe and enjoyable pilgrimage. This means that while those who are most dependent will have priority, some with lesser needs will also be selected. We usually take 10 people who need assistance out of a total group of 24. Travelling to Lourdes. Your first duty will be to help with checking that all VIPs have brought their passports, European Health Insurance Card and their medication. You may also be needed to help VIPs board the jumbulance, either by the stairs or by the lift which can be used in a bed, a wheelchair or on foot, and which is under the supervision of the trained and greatly experienced ACROSS drivers. Once on the jumbulance, Ann or one of the drivers will show you the case with a small supply of drugs and the other medical equipment and supplies on board. You will receive more detailed information on these from ACROSS in their Nurses Handbook which is issued before we travel. The jumbulance is also an 4

6 ambulance and can use its blue lights in an emergency to get us quickly to the nearest hospital. The journey to Lourdes is long and tiring. Much of your time will be spent in getting to know your fellow pilgrims, checking on the VIPs and that medication is being taken and liasing with others in the nursing team. On the journey meal times will be different from usual for VIPs, meaning that drugs may be taken later than they are used to. Experience has shown that some VIPs are more likely than others to develop problems on the journey and will need to be kept under review, especially diabetics, epileptics and those with learning difficulties. It is important to ensure that all pilgrims are kept hydrated and do not get overheated. The VIPs allocated beds will be encouraged to retire reasonably early, so that everyone can get as much rest as possible. There will be a rota to ensure that some helpers / nurses are awake and available through the night. Where do we stay in Lourdes? We stay in the Hotel Mediterranee, on the Avenue du Paradis in Lourdes. It is a normal 4* hotel with some adapted rooms for people with disabilities. It can provide hospital style beds, en suite wet rooms for those unable to bathe and hoists. A medical kit is provided for use in the hotel and when we are out and about. Meals are taken in the dining room. Breakfast is anytime between 7 am and 9 am (continental style but with yoghurts, cereals and sometimes other treats to go with a bread stick and croissant.) There is a set menu 3 5

7 Kettering & Corby Districts Sick Pilgrims Trust A registered charity no Kc D SPT PILGRIMAGE TO LOURDES August 2016 NURSE APPLICATION FORM Please read our Information for Nurses booklet for details of what is required of nurses, and how the selection process works. Please contact us if you need any help in completing the form.

8 FULL NAME: Name you like to be known by (for name badge) Date of birth Address Post code Phone number(s) Brief description of relevant qualifications or experience

9 Continued COST The pilgrimage costs us about 400 for each nurse. This covers travel on the jumbulance, hotel accommodation, all meals and insurance. If you can pay this amount it helps us to target our funds to those in genuine need. Don t worry if this is too much for you. We ask successful applicants to contribute at least 300 if possible, but we don t turn people away if they really can t afford to contribute this much. Could you pay the full cost of 400? Yes / No Or pay some of the cost? Amount... Would you like to pay by monthly instalments? Yes / No You must have a European Health Insurance Card before travel. These are free and can be obtained by calling or on-line at Nearly done. Now please sign the form overleaf and send it back to us, then we ll be in touch.

10 DECLARATION I consent to the information given in this form being processed and stored for the purpose of selecting pilgrims to visit Lourdes. Our Data Protection Policy is available on request. I have read the Information for Nurses booklet and understand what will be expected from me on the pilgrimage. I understand that an enhanced DBS check will be required. Our policy on the recruitment of exoffenders is available on request. By making this application I confirm that I am not barred from working with vulnerable adults I confirm that the information that I have provided on this form is correct and true to my knowledge. Applicant s signature... Date... Please return this form to Andy Sipple Pilgrimage Administrator 62 Pipers Hill Road Kettering Telephone: NN15 7NH andy.sipple@btinternet.com

11 course lunch at 12 pm and a set menu 4 course dinner at 7 pm. Vegetarian options and other dietary requirements can be met if notified in advance. All our rooms are twin bedded and on the second floor of the hotel, which has two lifts. The hotel also has a bar with an outside terrace, a first floor sun terrace and a small chapel. It is only a short way from the sanctuaries of Our Lady. What do we do in Lourdes? We do all the things that most pilgrims to Lourdes do. We visit the Grotto where Our Lady appeared to St Bernadette in We visit the baths. We take part in the Torchlight procession and the Blessed Sacrament procession. We celebrate Mass each day. We give pilgrims the opportunity to go to Confession. We try to arrange the anointing of the sick. We pray the rosary, the novena to Our Lady of Lourdes, the Stations of the Cross and the Chaplet of Divine Mercy. We visit the old town to see the sites associated with St Bernadette. All these activities are optional. But as well as the spiritual side of the pilgrimage, there is a very important social side. We go on trips out to places of interest in the area and we go up into the mountains to take in the tremendous views offered by the Pyrenees. We have picnic lunches on these visits. We will visit cafes and bars in Lourdes and when we are out and about to just chat and relax. 6

12 The weather in Lourdes at this time of year can be very hot, and sometimes very wet. The evenings can sometimes be quite cool. Pilgrims need to be prepared for all these. Please make sure that you bring sun cream and a sun hat, waterproofs and woollies. Being away from home, you may encounter some or all of the following problems for VIPs Excessive sunlight for those on photosensitive drugs Sunburn Heat and dehydration Alcohol intake by those on medication or unused to drinking Effect of altitude on those with diminished cardiac or respiratory reserve (Lourdes is only 420m (1380 ft) above sea level, but on our trips we could go as high as 1350m (higher than Ben Nevis)). Taking additional over-the-counter medicines or those supplied by another VIP Constipation Failure to take water pills! How much does it cost? Thanks to ACROSS, who subsidise every pilgrim that travels on the jumbulance by more than 100, and give an additional subsidy for nurses, the cost to us is around 400 for each nurse (and 770 for other pilgrims). 7

13 This covers the journey to and from Lourdes on the jumbulance, 4* hotel accommodation, all meals and specialist insurance cover. If you can pay the full cost that we are charged that is great, but do not worry if you cannot afford it. We fund raise all year so that we too can subsidise pilgrims. If possible we like all pilgrims to pay at least 400 and nurses 300. Whether you are paying the full cost or some other amount you can pay in instalments if this would be easier for you. Maybe you could raise some money yourself, by having coffee mornings or in some other way? Please speak to us if you are worried about the cost. We don t turn people away, especially nurses, just because they can t afford very much. You will also need to bring some money with you so that you can buy drinks, ice creams and souvenirs etc. We have a group photo taken that you also might like to buy and you will probably come with us when we go on excursions and which cost a little extra. We advise pilgrims to bring at least 150 to cover these extras. What is the Kettering & Corby Districts Sick Pilgrims Trust? We are a small registered charity. We were formed in 1992 because of one lady who desperately wanted to visit Lourdes but was unable to fly and had no other means of getting there. We raised enough funds to make our first pilgrimage in 1993 and we have been 8

14 back to Lourdes every year since. We have also made two pilgrimages to the Holy Land, for the millennium and again in 2011, as well as our annual trip to Lourdes. We are run by a committee of volunteer trustees. Our Patron is Bishop Peter Doyle and our President is Canon John Koenig. We are not an official Catholic charity, but we do keep in contact with our Diocese, especially on safeguarding matters and we have good relations with our home parishes. The trustees main job each year is to make sure we raise enough funds for the pilgrimage, which we have always succeeded in doing, thank God. We have an annual Grand Draw, sell our own calendars and have many fundraising events like concerts and dances in both Kettering and Corby through the year. We issue a newsletter after each pilgrimage and at other times. To find out more about us, and to see what events we have coming up, please visit our website or find us on Facebook. How can I help the Trust? There are many ways in which you could help. You could join the Trust (it only costs 5 a year) and then you will have a say in what we do and how we do it. You could stand for election as a Trustee at our Annual General Meeting and then help to run the charity. 9

15 You could arrange a fund raising event in our aid, or get sponsorship for us from participating in an event. You could remember us in your will. You could continue to buy our Grand Draw tickets, and tickets for our concerts and dances, and our calendars. Without supporters like you, we wouldn t be able to continue to bring such joy and solace to the people we help. Where can I find more information? About our pilgrimages Please visit our website at You can write to us at 12 Holmes Avenue, Raunds NN9 6SZ or telephone our Pilgrimage Manager, Val, on About Lourdes From About ACROSS From About other pilgrimages to Lourdes From for the Diocesan pilgrimage or from the Director of the Diocesan Pilgrimage, Fr Damien Walne, at 1 Elwes Way, Great Billing, Northampton, NN3 9EA 10

16 From for the Society of Our Lady of Lourdes. From for the Ampleforth pilgrimage How do I apply? If you would like to come with us to Lourdes, please fill in the application form on the centre pages of this booklet and send it to Andy (our pilgrimage administrator). His address is on the form. If you would like more information before deciding then please give Val a call on If you would like to come with us, please check your passport now and if you need a new one send off for it as soon as possible. You;ll also need to check that you have an up-to-date EHIC (European Health Insurance Card). Details of how to get one are on the application form. If you can t make the dates this year get in touch anyway and we ll make sure that we will send you information about future years. 11