1. Am told should vote yes as we've waited so long & this wording while not perfect is a 'first step.' It isn't though. Govt were given a perfect 'final step' wording from Citizen Assembly & rejected it. They don't want a final step - do you? thejournal.ie/yes-yes-family… 2. Also told we must vote yes to an imperfect wording as we won't get a chance to vote on this again. Rubbish. It is almost as though we didn't vote twice on Lisbon! The public can send the Govt back with strong message - put Citizen Assembly care definition to public vote.

1. I am appalled by this from @CarersIreland, who with @NWCI tell the public to vote yes to a referendum which in 2024, defines care as provided ONLY by family, care which the State will 'strive to support.' It is better than nothing, they tell us. independent.ie/opinion/commen… 2. The State dismissed the excellent modern recommendations of the Citizen Assembly which put the onus on the State to provide reasonable measures to support care in homes AND community. The Govt chose to use archaic wording from 1996 instead to define care through family only.

1) A must listen for everyone working in/managing healthcare services. A very reflective Dr John Gibbs, one of the 7 consultants in the #LucyLetby case considers the actions/inactions of a system which ignored red flags & allowed a murderer to continue to access infants.

https://twitter.com/LucyLetbyTrial/status/1695117147750482335

2) Dr Gibbs agrees now that had the consultants gone directly to the police, lives may have been saved. The consultants have been the ONLY group willing to reflect on what they might have done differently, no such reflection has come from nursing or hospital management.

1) A forensic breakdown of how Alison Kelly, Director of Nursing, Safeguarding Lead, Ian Harvey, Medical Director & Tony Chambers, Hospital CEO & trained nurse, along with hospital board supported #LucyLetby & chose not to refer evidence to police or safeguarding authorities.

https://twitter.com/ShaunLintern/status/1692948250968436988

2) From outset, the hospital took a medical model approach; classifying baby deaths as medical errors, viewing Letby presence as a coincidence & minimising growing concerns from expert consultants about the deaths of babies in their care.

1) I have no knowledge of the Rory Gallagher or his family life but some dangerous narratives are emerging around domestic violence, the role of social work, the police and the courts which should be challenged.

https://twitter.com/ColtsBert/status/1656714379620909065

2) I was an Emergency Dept social worker for many years. I routinely worked with women who experienced brutal levels of violence. Many had addiction issues which developed as a coping strategy to survive the relentless emotional and physical abuse.

1) A thread on Cutting Through Spin. @LeoVaradkar contacted @HSELive re the death of a teenager in Limerick hospital. Leo calls for inquiry & as a doctor, cautions us against jumping to conclusions about a death of a young girl left on trolley in an overcrowded, Emergency Dept. 2) I don't recall a direct intervention from @LeoVaradkar in June 2022, when @HIQA issued a damning & frightening assessment of the safety of care in the Emergency Dept of University Hospital Limerick.

1) Fantasy healthcare analysis from @LeoVaradkar. Ireland has one of the lowest levels of hospital beds and doctors per head of population in Europe. Yet the Taoiseach doesn't want to ascribe blame for any of that. The trolley crisis is our fault, if only we would stop ageing! 2) This response from @LeoVardakar should concern everyone. He chooses to normalise a health crisis by pretending it is an unavoidable and expected outcome of factors apparently beyond the reach of Govt - i.e. rapid population growth/ageing population.

1) Reflections on hospital visiting. A year ago, a consultant told me she feared hospital visiting will never return to normal post Covid as it suits system to regulate it tightly. Hospitals are now used to providing care with less family involvement. Some prefer it, she said. 2) This week, a nurse I also admire told me that despite volume of complaints received by her hospital, visiting would & should never return to time 'when families could visit & park themselves by the bed for hours.' Yet evidence shows this support is good for patients!

1) In my career, I have witnessed the impact of coercive control/safeguarding concerns when people are terminally ill. What does that look like? The 'controller' prevents access to medical appointments & to pain relief, in an attempt to hasten illness & death. #CBlive 2)Tremendous pressure is placed on the person to change their will or use their assets to benefit others. People are threatened they will be left in a care setting. People are made to feel intensely guilty about their care needs & the 'burden' they create. #CBlive