Planning an overseas holiday with your Support Worker

Carer Solutions Partner, Philomena had been dreaming of a European holiday, but didn’t want to go on an accessible holiday designed specifically for people with disabilities.

She has cerebral palsy, and while she can stand and walk, she spends most of her life in a manual wheelchair.

She decided she wanted to go on a month-long tour with the support of her disability Support Worker Nadia. Nadia had been supporting Philomena for over 25 years, so she was the perfect person to accompany Philomena on her trip of a lifetime.

The plans were to go on a Trafalgar tour which would go through 11 countries in 21 days. It took Philomena almost a year of planning to ensure that everything was in place to ensure the holiday ran as smoothly as possible. One of the things that she needed to know, was just how much money she had in her plan to ensure Nadia could support her.

She contacted the Carer Solutions team, who were able to provide her with a quote on how much it would cost her plan, based on the 10 hours of support that Nadia needed to provide her each day.

Philomena’s Partner Experience Coordinator, Jonathan explains that Carer Solutions was not only able to provide a clear quote for her, but also explain the benefits of her exisiting insurance policy.

“What a lot of people don’t know is that that WorkCover covers you not just in Australia, but overseas as well. So when Philomena told us she was going away with Nadia, we knew that they were going to be covered and be safe, and they would have peace of mind to enjoy their trip.”

Philomena says that prior to embarking on the trip, she really didn’t know what would be involved, how long the days would be or how hard it would be to repeatedly get on and off the bus.

“The whole trip was long and physically challenging. Europe is a lot harder for wheelchairs, but I could not have done it without Nadia’s support.”

Despite the challenges, Philomena now has such fond memories of the holiday and is happy she took the leap of faith. Her tips to others thinking of an overseas getaway?

“Just do it. Start early and do as much research as you can and just be as organised as you can. And if you’re taking a support worker, you have to make sure that you get on with them.”

If you’re keen to embark on an adventure of your own but need some support, we’re here to help!  To find out more, you can call our friendly team on 1300 729 839.