Current Council Members

Annual BLMA Conference 2023. Open for bookings!! 3rd to 5th November. Liverpool. Read More

Officers

Dr Hamilton Grantham

Title

Chair

Bio

Hamilton has been coming to Lourdes since 1992, at the age of 17 years old, initially as a Stagiere, supporting the Lourdes Hospitalite to welcome Pilgrims and with Ampleforth Pilgrimage since 2002. He has been Chief Doctor to the Ampleforth…

Mrs Paula Mitchell

Title

Vice Chair

Bio

Paula is lead nurse on the Birmingham Diocesan Pilgrimage.

Dr Monica Doyle

Title

Treasurer

Bio

I started travelling to Lourdes in 1996 as part of the Archdiocese of St Andrews & Edinburgh Youth Pilgrimage. I absolutely loved the experience and it confirmed my desire to study medicine. I began at the University of Dundee Medical School…

Dr Jenny Klimiuk

Title

Correspondence Secretary

Members

Ms Nikki Wisdom

Bio

My background is of working as an A&E nurse, latterly as an Emergency Nurse Practitioner, before moving to Primary Care. I completed a degree as a Nurse Practitioner, and am currently studying a MSc in Advanced Practice. I am also…

Dr Joe O’Dwyer

Bio

Joe is a consultant anaesthetist. He has travelled with the Arundel and Brighton Pilgrimage for many years, and has become their Chief Doctor this year. He was secretary to the Lourdes Medical Association and International Liaison Officer of the BLMA…

Dr Marilyn Browne

Bio

Marilyn is a General Practitioner. Until recently she travelled with the Birmingham Pilgrimage.

Ms Kayleigh Pierce

Bio

I am a nurse and originally from Worthing, Sussex. Having studied at King’s College London, I worked in London for 10 years before transferring from the RAF Reserves to the Regulars. I am now a Nursing Officer working in a…

Scott Johnston

Bio

Scott is a Registered Nurse and Midwife with a background in Intensive care nursing before moving into midwifery. He has worked in senior midwifery leadership roles in recent years. He is currently working with NHS England/Improvement as a Maternity Improvement…

Liz Joy

Bio

Liz is a retired Registered Nurse who has nursed in Lourdes with the Hexham and Newcastle Pilgrimage since 1990 and was Lead Nurse from 2007 until 2012. She recently had the experience of being the local organising representative for the BLMA Conference 2021.

Ex-Officio Members

Dr Angela Campbell

Title

CMIL Representative

Bio

Angela is a geriatrician working in Glasgow and travels with their pilgrimage. She is the representative for CMIL on the Council.

Mrs Kim O'Connor

Bio

I first visited Lourdes in 2004 with the Leeds diocesan pilgrimage and was Lead Nurse from 2011 to 2019. From 2010 I joined the Hexham & Newcastle diocese and began travelling twice a year to Lourdes, then in 2013 I…

Dr Michael Moran

Title

Seirbhis Representative

Bio

Michael is a trainee surgeon in ENT. He has been going to Lourdes since he was a teenager and goes with the Connor and Down pilgrimage from Northern Ireland.

Fr Dennis Touw

Title

Chaplain

Bio

Fr. Dennis is Pilgrimage Director of the Westminster Diocesan Pilgrimage and current President of the Pilgrimage Directors Association. He became chaplain to the BLMA in 2019.

Co-Opted Representatives

Dr. Jane Pateman

Bio

I trained in London and worked in Brighton as an anaesthetic consultant until the pandemic. I was a very reluctant companion with two small children on my husband’s first Lourdes pilgrimage in 1997, when I unexpectedly found it an amazing…

Gerard King

Bio

I have worked on five pilgrimages as part of the medical team, crewing a jumbulance and flying, I am just pleased that I have skills that in a little way help sick and disabled people to visit Lourdes. My medical work…