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The charity initially arose as an extension of provision for terminal care by Newbury Street Practice.
The Gables Care Group was formed in 1986 and registered as a charity to provide medical equipment and private nursing care outside the usual N.H.S. provisions for the patients of the Newbury Street Practice. During this period more than £65,000 has been very kindly donated to the charity providing relief to many patients and carers and enabling the purchase of many items of practical use.
The charity initially arose as an extension of provision for terminal care by the Newbury Street Practice. A night nurse fund had been set up previously to pay for the employment of private nurses to relieve carers at night and to enable those patients, terminally ill, to be cared for at home.
In the early years many items were purchased including two syringe drivers for continuous infusion of drugs necessary for pain relief, a portable suction unit, patient handling slings, special mattresses for prevention of bed sores, nebulisers for emergency management of asthma, (since these have been available most asthma attacks can be managed at home, avoiding admission to hospital for many.), and booklets on grief bereavement and cancer. Emergency resuscitation kits have been provided, the two-way radio system , updated to ensure surgery/doctor contact at all times. Two extra pressure relieving mattresses have been bought along with a special mattress for a severely disabled patient.
As members of the Newbury Street Primary Health Care Team our aim is to support patients and their relatives within their own home for as long as they wish. A lot of these patients are very sick, requiring intensive nursing and this is where The Gables comes in. It gives us easy access to equipment that helps prevent pressure (bed) sores, and provides commodes; syringe drivers etc. It also enabled us to buy in night nurses so that both patients and relatives can sleep which is so important at these times.
As District Nurses we do have access to equipment from a central source but demand is high and response can be slow. By having equipment purchased by the Gables Fund patients can experience the positive effects within hours of identifying the need.
The Health Visitors and the families they visit have benefited from the equipment purchased by the Gables. All three Health Visitors have their own portable weighing scales purchased by the group. This enables them to be more flexible in their visiting patterns to mothers at home in the early post-natal period.
We also have access to an electric breast pump which is available to mothers experiencing difficulty with mastitis or for expressing milk for premature babies still in special care.
There are also copies of a very useful book on breast feeding for mothers to borrow.
Perhaps some of the most valued pieces of equipment purchased by the Group are the bedwetting alarms. They are more discreet and modern than those available to order for families via the NHS route. They are usually available more quickly but are in frequent use.
We greatly appreciate having access to the Gables Care Group and the equipment and resources it funds.
I am indebted to the Gables for providing equipment that the N.H.S. does not offer, this makes my working day easier and ensures optimum care for mums and babies. Amongst the items we have benefited from are:
A super, state of the art Labour Ward bed.
Electronic scales - a vast improvement on 'fish scales'.
Sonicaid. A high tech. machine for listening to baby's heart rate. It reassures Mum and Dad at check-ups and is vital to ensure fetal well being during labour.
Parentcraft teaching aids. We have no budget for this and in the past have bought things ourselves. The Gables has enabled us to buy excellent books, posters and charts.
We could not do as much without the help offered by the kind donations received through the Gables.
The work undertaken by the Practice Nurses, on behalf of Patients, has benefited from investment by the Gables Care Group. Several items purchase which would not normally be available in a Practice under the NHS, has made life easier for Patients and Nurses. Our modern E.C.G. machine is quicker and stops patients waiting or going to Oxford. The audio machine has been a great boon for similar reasons. We can now lend monitors to diabetic patients to record their own blood glucose levels. Blood pressure machines have greatly aided the diagnosis of hypertension. For these reasons we are grateful for the generous donations.
Blood pressure machines have greatly aided the diagnosis of hypertension.
When our late mother took ill it was a traumatic time for the whole family. We all wondered how we could possibly cope particularly as mother had said that she really did not want to go to hospital.
As far as she was concerned she had a very strong desire to remain in the family home.
When we spoke to her Doctor we were quite surprised to hear about the support that the Practice could give. They had equipment to enable medication to be given to mother in order that her pain was controlled. When the District Nurses were not available Nurses were provided overnight by the Gables Care Group.
We were delighted that mother's wishes could be met thanks to kind benefactors through the Gables.
Chairman: Dr. Drew Dinnis
Vice Chairman: Dr. Sarah Shackleton
Treasurer: Mrs Alison Shoemark
Secretary: Mrs Catherine Bulpitt
Legal Advisor: Mr Terry Ryland
Auditors: Little & Co.
Gables Care Group is a charity registered in England. No.295707
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