Lourdes SPT. Information for Carers. Kc D August The KCDSPT annual pilgrimage to

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1 The KCDSPT annual pilgrimage to Lourdes August 2015 Information for Carers Kettering & Corby Districts Sick Pilgrims Trust A registered charity no Kc D SPT

2 PAGE What do carers do on the pilgrimage? 2 Do I have to be a Catholic to join the pilgrimage? 4 Who are the VIPs? 5 Who else will be in the group? 5 How do we get to Lourdes? 6 Where do we stay in Lourdes? 6 What do we do in Lourdes? 7 How much does it cost? 8 What happens if I apply to join the pilgrimage? What is the Kettering & Corby Districts Sick Pilgrims Trust? 9 11 How can I help the Trust? 12 Where can I find more information? 13 Are there other ways of getting to Lourdes? 13 Application Form at end 1

3 What do carers do on the pilgrimage? We ask you to confirm that you have read and understand this section when you complete your application form. Please ask if you need any further information before deciding whether or not to apply. Probably the most important role for carers is to join in and make the trip as safe and as enjoyable as possible for the person you care for (we call them VIPs) and for you. In most cases you will share a room with your VIP and provide them with the same level of care that you are used to doing. If you are able, you will push their wheelchair when we re out and about. We want the VIPs to carry on doing all the things that they are able to do for themselves. Our medical team will draw up a care plan for your VIP. We will share this with them to make sure that we can give you any additional help that you need. All medical assistance is provided by our doctor (if one travels with us) and the registered nurses who are always with us. We wouldn t be allowed to travel unless there is at least one registered nurse and we usually have two or three. Personal care (such as washing and toileting where needed) is provided by the nurses or those who have relevant skills and experience if you do not usually provide this. You may have to help by completing some of the paperwork that is part of your VIPs care plan. Don t worry about this, it is very straightforward and will be covered by a briefing before we go that will also look at our safeguarding arrangements and manual handling and lifting. 2

4 If there is an emergency of any kind and at any time of the day or night you ll have the contact telephone numbers of the nurses so that help will arrive quickly. It will be possible to do your own thing on occasions for example, you may wish to go down to the grotto late at night or meet up with people from another group. This is fine, but we do ask you to let Shane (the Group Leader) or Ann (our Head Nurse) know so that we can make sure that there are always enough helpers still around in case of emergency. We may work out a rota so that all carers get some time to themselves. We need you to be fit and ready to go each morning, and capable if you re needed during the night so we do ask you not to drink too much or stay out too late at night. Don t suffer in silence. If your VIP is more demanding than we or you expected then let Shane or Ann know. We want everybody to have an enjoyable pilgrimage and that includes you. It will be possible to give you extra help or even move you to another room and a less demanding VIP if you need to catch up on your sleep. You might also be asked to help with other tasks, like loading and unloading the jumbulance on the journeys to and from Lourdes and the mini jumbulance we use for travel while we re in Lourdes. After training, you may help by ensuring that wheelchairs are properly secured on the mini jumbulance. You might be asked to fetch the wheelchairs each day or put them back in the store at the end of the day. You may be on a kitchen rota on the long journeys to and from Lourdes to provide hot drinks or meals as we travel along. You ll help with dishing 3

5 out the food when we have a picnic away from the hotel. Ann or Shane may need you to do other small odd jobs to make the trip run smoothly. We take the safety of all pilgrims very seriously. All carers complete a DBS (criminal records check) enhanced vetting form, and no one gets on the jumbulance without these checks having been completed. We always have a number of experienced helpers travelling with us, so there is always someone on hand to give advice. There are always people to assist with any more difficult tasks (for example any lifting that may be necessary). We don t want you to try to do things by yourself and put yourself or your VIP in danger. If you re ever not completely sure about something please always ask. Ann and Shane have many years experience with us and are happy to help. Best of all we hope that you ll have fun and a spiritual experience while doing something really worthwhile. Do I have to be a Catholic to join the pilgrimage? No, you don t have to be a Catholic to travel with us. We ve had many pilgrims from other churches, and other religions and none. Whatever your beliefs, if you want to visit Lourdes and help others then we would like to hear from you. Lourdes is most closely associated with the Catholic Church, and we have a Catholic priest in the group as our spiritual director. We attend Catholic services, but where possible these are optional. 4

6 Who are VIPs? A VIP is someone who needs help to be able to go on pilgrimage to Lourdes. We help those who have terminal illness, or progressive disease, or disabilities or older people. We can help if they are confined to bed or use a wheelchair, or have difficulty walking We can help if their medical condition means that they cannot travel by air. We give priority to those with the most needs, but we also help people who need less care so that we can make sure that we have time to give everyone the help they need. Who else is in the group? We have 24 people in the group. There are 10 VIPs, and each VIP will have either a volunteer helper or a carer who has come with them like you. We also have at least 2 registered nurses and a Spiritual Director. 5

7 How do we get to Lourdes? We travel to Lourdes on the ACROSS jumbulance. This is a very special coach that cost 400,000 that is also an ambulance. It has a lift so that people can get on and off without having to climb the stairs. It has seven beds and reclining seats. It has a disabled toilet. It has a kitchen so that we can have hot meals on our journey, and it has medical equipment for use by the nurses. We leave from the Corby Irish Centre on Patrick Road. We usually meet there at 12:45 pm on Thursday. With only brief stops to change drivers and for fuel we travel straight to Lourdes through the Channel Tunnel. Lourdes is in the south west of France in the foothills of the Pyrenees mountains near the Spanish border, so it is a long journey. Travelling through the night we arrive at our hotel in Lourdes in time for lunch on Friday. For the return journey we leave after lunch on the next Friday and arrive back at the Irish Centre by mid-morning on the Saturday. 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 6

8 suite wet rooms for those unable to bathe and hoists. Meals are taken in the dining room. Breakfast is anytime between 7 am and 9 am (continental style but with yoghurts, cereals and some other treats to go with a bread stick and croissant.) There is a set menu 3 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. Please let us know if you have any food allergies and we will make sure that the hotel is informed. All our rooms are twin bedded and on the same floor of the hotel, which has two lifts. The hotel also has a bar with an outside terrace, and a small chapel. It is only a short way from the sanctuaries of Our Lady and we have a supply of wheelchairs to use that are stored at the hotel. 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. 7

9 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. 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. How much does it cost? Thanks to ACROSS, who subsidise every pilgrim that travels on the jumbulance the pilgrimage costs us about 770 for each pilgrim. 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 because it means that we can use our funds to help those in genuine need, 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. Whether you are paying the full cost or some other amount you can pay 8

10 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 when we visit if you are worried about the cost. We don t turn people away if they really 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 want to come with us when we go on excursions and which cost a little extra. We advise pilgrims to bring at least 150 in euros to cover these extras. If you are offered a place on the pilgrimage, Don our Treasurer will be in touch to let you know how you can pay your contribution in instalments if you wish or in one go. What happens if I apply to join the pilgrimage? The first thing to do is to fill in the application form at the end of this booklet and send it to our Pilgrimage Manager, Val (her address is on the form) as soon as possible together with the form for your VIP. We will then contact you and arrange for someone to come and see you and your VIP. This would probably be Val and /or Ann. They will look at the help your VIP needs and how much of that you are used to giving so that they can start to think about the care plan. It is important to be as honest as possible at this meeting. We give priority to those who need the most 9

11 care, but we will also select some with lesser needs to make sure that we have enough support available for everyone. They probably won t be able to give you an immediate yes or no. Val needs to look at all the applications and make sure that we have right helpers to meet the needs of the VIPs. When we ve made our selection we will then contact you again to let you know whether or not we have places for you and your VIP on the pilgrimage. If you have been successful we will send you another application form from ACROSS (the charity that owns the jumbulance) and a DBS form for a criminal records check. Sometimes people have to drop out at short notice. If we can t offer you places we may ask you if you would like to go on a reserve list in case this happens, but you would need to be able to join us if we let you know very soon before we travel. A couple of weeks before we leave for Lourdes we have a gettogether for everyone in the group so that we can start to get to know each other and we can give you advice on things like what to pack. At this get-together we will brief you on how to complete your part of the VIP s care plan, on our safeguarding arrangements and on manual handling and lifting. We will ask you if you would like to share your mobile phone no. with others in the group, if you are happy for us to use any photos in which you appear in our publications and we hand out the pilgrims packs. 10

12 If you want to join us you need to check your passport now. You ll need to send off for a new passport if you need one as soon as possible. If you are a non-uk, EU, EEA or Swiss citizen then you ll also need to check if you ll need a visa to visit France. Make sure that you have an up-to-date EHIC (European Health Insurance Card). These are free and are issued by the NHS, either by calling or on-line at 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 back to Lourdes every year since. We also made two pilgrimages to the Holy Land, for the millennium and in 2011 as well as our annual trips 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 11

13 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. By the time we leave on our pilgrimage we might have a new name. We think that our current name is too long and that some people who could apply to join our pilgrimages might not think we would help them. If you have a good idea for a new name, then let us know. 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. 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. 12

14 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 Are there other ways of getting to Lourdes? Yes, there are many other organised pilgrimages to Lourdes (these groups usually travel at different times of year and travel by air or train - please contact them if you would like more information) From for the Northampton Diocese pilgrimage or from the Director of the Diocesan Pilgrimage, Fr Damien Walne, at 1 Elwes Way, Great Billing, Northampton, NN3 9EA From for the Ampleforth pilgrimage, or contact Dr Janet Squire (parishioner at St Bernadette's, Rothwell) Rushton Manor Rushton Kettering NN14 1RH 13

15 Tel: From for the Society of Our Lady of Lourdes. 14

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19 Kettering & Corby Districts Sick Pilgrims Trust A registered charity no Kc D SPT PILGRIMAGE TO LOURDES August 2015 CARER APPLICATION FORM Please read our Information for Carers booklet for details of what is required of carers, and how the selection process works. Please contact us if you need any help in completing the form.

20 FULL NAME: Name you like to be known by (for name badge) Date of birth Address Post code Phone number(s) address The name of the person you will care for on the pilgrimage: Brief description of the care you give to this person

21 Continued COST The pilgrimage costs us about 770 for each pilgrim. 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 400 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 770? 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.

22 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 Carers booklet and understand what is expected of carers 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 Val Miller Pilgrimage Manager 23 Sulgrave Drive CORBY NN17 2PE Telephone: