Susan Constable

Wife, Mum, Gran, Daughter & Friend.....loved by Christ. Massive cricket fan.
Any views expressed are my own.

[Kevin Hague @kevverage]

powerful stuff from a remarkable young man

[Susan Constable @SusanConstable]

@JuliaHB1 Definitely the BBC promo…..🤢

[The Christian Institute @christianorguk]

Happy Father’s Day #Psalm103v13 #FathersDay #compassion

[Sharron Davies HoL MBE @sharrond62]

It is both illegal but also immoral & stupid, to say ‘you elite women, you’re worthy of your fair & safe sport, but hey you less good ones, you’re not!’ The reality of biological sex affects sporting performance, stop destroying sport for females. Find a better way, it’s not hard

[The Christian Institute @christianorguk]

The Christian Institute warns UK legislators that introducing a ‘conversion therapy’ ban would have a chilling effect on ordinary church work
and everyday parenting: https://t.co/RrGSLZEBA7

[Susan Constable @SusanConstable]

I hope that those around Ben Stokes are watching how he is psychologically. Don’t ignore what he went through just a few years ago. He may seem a tough bloke but I suspect that’s not the case. The ECB have a duty of care if Stokes seems ‘not quite right’

[Danny Kruger @danny__kruger]

As MPs consider whether to bring back the Bill for Assisted Dying that fell in the last session - spare a thought for the people who actually care for the dying. Prospect Hospice near Swindon in my constituency is running at half its potential capacity, with 6 beds open rather than 12, meaning they turn away 6 dying people per week. Patients are ending their lives in corridors in Great Western Hospital, 4 miles away, because of a failure to fund end of life care.

Meanwhile over in Devizes Julia’s House, a hospice for the most seriously ill children - including terminally - is scrabbling for money to keep open. The most moving visit I’ve paid as an MP was to Julia’s House: a truly wonderful place, full of sadness and goodness. Yet they only get 8% of their income from the government.

Hospices (a British invention) are the best institutions in the world. It’s great they attract so much philanthropy - long may it continue - but they deliver a service that is clearly healthcare, and the NHS is legally obliged to fund it; but it doesn’t, because there is no definition of what ‘it’ is. The government urgently needs to bring forward minimum standards that local health commissioners must follow in meeting their obligations to fund palliative care.

[Susan Constable @SusanConstable]

Petition: Fully fund Specialist Palliative Care provided by hospices https://t.co/xrGVuL5Nia

[Susan Constable @SusanConstable]

@DebiEvansMatron @JackieMarsden6 @nightsong53 I still do that with my pillowcases!

[Debi Evans @DebiEvansMatron]

Nursing in the 1970s – A World Away from Today.

Back then, we changed patients’ beds daily sometimes more if needs required. Fresh, crisp sheets weren’t a luxury; they actually made people feel better. There was something healing about climbing into a clean bed with properly tucked envelope corners. We knew all our patients by name and they knew ours. Doctors in white coats and nurses in uniforms. We knew who everyone was.

The ward looked welcoming. Vases of flowers from relatives and the local flower stand to the entrance of the hospital. adorned the bedsides. Families weren’t “visitors” to be tolerated, on the contrary they were welcomed, included, and often helped with little jobs. It felt like a community. Any problems, family would be 1st to spot and report.

Matron ruled the roost. You didn’t want a summons to her office. One look from her and you straightened your apron and your attitude. Standards were non-negotiable.
We turned bedridden or unconscious patients every two hours, religiously, to prevent pressure sores. No exceptions. Fluid balance charts hung at the end of every bed, constantly we encouraged patients to drink, recorded every sip, and took mouth care seriously. Basic care was never “basic”, it was fundamental.

Doctors sometimes prescribed a pint of Guinness for the anaemic or a sherry for the frail elderly. It worked wonders for appetite and morale. After acute illness, patients went to proper convalescent homes for a week or two by the sea. Fresh air, good food, gentle exercise. It prevented bed-blocking and got people home stronger.

Palliative care wasn’t a separate specialty it was woven into our training. We knew how to sit with the dying, hold a hand, ease discomfort. TLC wasn’t a slogan. It was our mantra.

We didn’t have fancy equipment or endless paperwork, but we had time for patients. We saw the person, not just the diagnosis.
So… what on earth went wrong?

How did we move from this to where basic care is sometimes rushed or non existent, relatives feel like a nuisance, and “turning” someone properly is squeezed between targets and tick-boxes? When did we lose the simple things that actually made people feel safe and cared for?

This is just the tip of an iceberg, I could go on. I’d love to hear from other nurses who trained or worked in that era. What do you remember most fondly?
#Nursing #1970s #OldSchoolNursing #TLC #PatientCare

[Dan Hitchens @ddhitchens]

Speech of the day from former attorney general Baroness Prentis, who is undergoing chemotherapy:

“When I’ve been waiting, literally on the floor, having fainted, of a less than perfectly clean NHS corridor, I have had a vision in my head of crisp white sheets and certainty that would come from knowing you were instantly going to die.

“For me, and I suspect for most vulnerable people, that vision passes and life becomes worth living and good again. But I don’t think we should deny for one minute that that vision is briefly an attractive one.

“My Lords, we owe the dying better than this bill.”

[Right To Life UK @RightToLifeUK]

Baroness @Tanni_GT conveys Baroness Finlay’s apologies for missing today’s debate.

She is attending the funeral of a patient once told by four doctors he had just three months to live... Baroness Finlay knew him for 35 years.

[Susan Constable @SusanConstable]

@sharrond62 So well deserved….you will be brilliant!

[Susan Constable @SusanConstable]

@sharrond62 @Telegraph Congratulations Sharron - wonderfully to see that your advocacy for women and girls in sport has been rewarded . Thank you for all that you have done…from a grateful grandmother of 5 (soon to be 6) granddaughters.

[Nikki da Costa @nmdacosta]

If you missed the last two days of the Select Committee, this is very helpful…

[Danny Kruger @danny__kruger]

I gave a speech today in an empty chamber. It’s about the need for a Christian restoration.

[Susan Constable @SusanConstable]

@danny__kruger Thank you!! Such a powerful speech - God bless you in all you do.