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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
Lifestyle
Joanna Whitehead

Louise Thompson calls NHS nurses her ‘beacon of hope’ amid national strike action

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Louise Thompson has hailed the NHS nurses that looked after her during her previous hospital visits as “my shining light, my beacon of hope” amid their national strike action.

The Made In Chelsea star said she had “very mixed feelings” towards the UK health system, but said the government needed to act to improve conditions for nursing staff.

The 32-year-old has suffered both physical and mental health problems since a traumatic childbirth incident at the end of 2021.

In a lengthy post shared to Instagram, Thompson described the nurses who cared for her during her hospital stay as “champs”.

“They rolled my body onto one side and changed my bedsheets from underneath my heavy naked body when I couldn’t move. They drugged me up. They helped me go to the loo,” she revealed.

“They put cream on my bedsores (I can’t believe these are actually a thing). They changed sweat ridden sheets multiple times a day. They fed me, shaved me, cleaned me. It was pretty grim. And yet they did it with such grace and dignity.”

She added that the hospital ward was “chaos” adding that “the amount of strain they were under was shocking”.

She continued: “The NHS needs more good people. Good people make an enormous impact on people’s lives and are the difference between people feeling safe, comfortable and wanting to keep going vs not wanting to give up.

“Without good nursing staff hospitals will fall apart. Gov better do something about it.⁣”

It comes after nurses in England, Wales and Northern Ireland went on strike in the Royal College of Nursing’s (RCN) first national action on Thursday.

RCN leader Pat Cullen warned that action by nurses would escalate unless ministers were prepared to get around the table and negotiate in the dispute over pay and conditions.

The TV personality was previously diagnosed with PTSD and has suffered numerous health issues since suffering complications while giving birth to her son, Leo-Hunter.

Thompson appeared in Made In Chelsea’s first series in 2011, progressing to become one of the E4 show’s main characters.

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