Doctors
As the lead doctor for the Diocesan Pilgrimage, I am responsible for overseeing the provision of medical care for those who require it on the pilgrimage. We are keen to recruit established doctors and medical students for the pilgrimage to support this.
Our main role, as pilgrimage doctors, is to support the nursing team in providing care to our assisted pilgrims. The pilgrimage usually includes 40-45 assisted pilgrims and they are accommodated in a dedicated nursing facility called the Acceuil St Frai. A rota is prepared to ensure medical cover is available at all times for the entire duration of the pilgrimage. Meetings are held each day with the nursing staff on duty to ensure that any clinical issues and potential problems are addressed in a timely and effective manner.
We take a limited supply of equipment and some medications to deal with medical emergencies. While most of our care is directed towards the assisted pilgrims in the Acceuil, we often receive requests to attend to medical concerns of other pilgrims and pilgrimage helpers. Whenever possible, we try to address these requests promptly.
Full participation of medical doctors in the Pilgrimage programme is strongly encouraged.
We welcome anyone interested in joining us to make contact via our pilgrimage email address and your details will be forwarded or by contacting myself directly at derkearney@yahoo.com
Dr Dermot Kearney