Even on the job, health care workers celebrate the holidays

(Montreal) The majority of Quebecers gather with family or friends on Christmas Eve, but several professions require people to remain on duty at all times, including health network personnel. From emergencies to ambulances and various hospital departments, the holiday atmosphere still manages to intrude into work shifts.

“The atmosphere is really pleasant. Several paramedics and employees, we have Christmas hats. There are many who decorate the front of the ambulances with garlands and lights, so it brings a really festive atmosphere to the day,” describes Adrianne Venne, an ambulance driver with Urgences-santé in Montreal.

Inside the hospitals there are some small decorations, but not everything is allowed due to infection prevention. But that's not the most important thing, according to Audrey-Anne Turcotte Brousseau, head of department for the CIUSSS de l'Estrie – CHUS. She is an emergency doctor at Fleurimont Hospital and Hôtel-Dieu Hospital.

“The festive atmosphere is more in the attitude of the people and the fact that we are all in the same boat to spend Christmas together. It’s more in the hearts of people and how we interact with each other that makes it a holiday atmosphere that is different from a standard shift,” explains D.^re Turcotte Brousseau.

Between employees, potluck meals seem to be a tradition for many hospital centers. Both at Christmas and New Year's Day, staff are invited to bring a dish and share it with their colleagues at break.

Fares Massaad is a clinical nurse at CHU Sainte-Justine, in Montreal. He previously worked in the hemato-oncology department and is now in the emergency room. “With the staff, the atmosphere is often more festive both in hemato-oncology and in the emergency room. We order food on the 24th and on the 25th we have a potluck. It's tradition in the emergency room if you work at Christmas. In hematoma, it was the same thing, we had a potluck on the 24th and 25th,” he says.

The custom is similar in Estrie, as evidenced by D^re Turcotte Brousseau. “From the point of view of the working atmosphere, the employees and the doctors, we consult a little beforehand to find out who works on the 24th and 25th in the evening and at night. Then we generally organize a small potluck or a collaborative meal to add a little festive touch to this shift where we are far from our families,” relates M^me Turcotte Brousseau.

On the paramedical side, we also celebrate as best we can. M^me Venne says paramedics organize among themselves to meet in a hospital parking lot and on a street corner to eat together. Everyone brings a small dish from home and shares with the others. Chocolate fondue and non-alcoholic apple must are quite popular, M said.^me He came.

Ridership is different on New Year’s Day

Hospital staff also celebrate the arrival of the new year. “On the 31st, often during the count, the nurses will stay in the department. We end shifts around 11:30 p.m., so instead of everyone going home and taking the chance to celebrate in the metro alone, often we'll stay in the department and count down with our night colleagues,” says Mr. Massaad.

Same story from D^re Turcotte Brousseau. “Usually around midnight, unless a very unstable patient arrives, we take a few minutes to say Happy New Year and after that, we start working again,” she says.

For paramedics the situation seems a little different. “New Years are really the opposite of Christmas. At Christmas it’s quite quiet and on New Year’s Day it’s really… a mess,” says M^me Come laughing. “Before midnight it's relatively okay, but when the New Year comes, there's a lot of intoxication,” she reports.

Generally speaking, it is true that traffic is higher at New Year than at Christmas. “The 22, 23, 24 and 25 [décembre] people try to stay with their families and [d’endurer] their problem for a while. What we subsequently see is an increase in traffic with patients who sometimes delayed a little before consulting, trying to stretch out everything so as not to have to spend Christmas in the hospital. We see this type of patient between Christmas and New Year’s Day,” says D.^re Turcotte Brousseau.

“And also due to the fact that families come together, get closer, hug each other… it’s the sharing of viruses. So, a little later during the holiday season, around New Year's Day, we see infectious pathologies, flu, runny noses, fevers that have lasted for a few days. We see much greater traffic on New Year's Day, among other things, due to this element. »

Mr. Massaad emphasizes that it is a time of gathering for everyone, even those who do not celebrate Christmas due to school holidays. “Viruses are transmitted well in this kind of context so often we will have a small resurgence of respiratory viruses and contagious diseases in the days that follow,” explains the nurse.

On the other hand, although the weather has an influence on emergency room traffic all year round, a greater proportion of people travel on the roads during the holidays, which increases the risk of accidents.

“It certainly increases the number of calls considerably. Lots of falls on the ice, people falling, lots of car accidents,” warns M^me He came.

D^re Turcotte Brousseau points out that during major snowstorms, emergency room traffic is often reduced for this reason. “We see a modulation of the clientele depending on the weather on a fairly daily basis,” she says.

Gratitude

Most health network staff members sacrifice meeting time, but they feel recognition from patients. Mr. Massaad said he sometimes received a small gift or chocolates at the hemato-oncology department. “Even in the emergency room, even if it is a clientele that is not followed over the long term, the staff receive a lot of gratitude for being present, whether it is Christmas Eve or New Year's Day », he testifies.

M^me Venne also feels useful in breaking isolation. She says many people call 9-1-1 because they are sad. Mixed with alcohol or other substances, they can have dark thoughts. “I understand that this is not a life-threatening emergency, but these are still people who need emotional support,” argues the paramedic. She makes it a point to treat them with empathy as they go through a difficult time.

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