A little planning pays off
It’s the night before Christmas and you have worked hard buying presents, organising menus, travel, people to look after your pets and all sorts of detail.
Now you may be wondering if you have missed anything. Well, there are a few important things that can derail your festive season and wellbeing if you don’t have them covered.
Like Santa’s elves, I and many others will be working in the emergency department on the night before Christmas and the days that follow. From experience we tend to see a few things that could have been prevented if added to your list.
Do you and your loved ones have enough medication to get you through? If on blood thinners such as warfarin, have you arranged to get your INR checked? Travelling, especially overseas, can play havoc with your clotting cascade if taking pills in different time zones. While we do see the consequences of not taking pills for blood pressure we also see people waiting long periods to get a repeat script because they haven’t stocked up before going away.
Another more common presentation over the festive season is hospital admission of the vulnerable. People have their pets covered but the marginal elderly parents at home get into difficulty if one of them has a fall or an event.
A classic scenario involves mild dementia. The non-dementia patient may have a fall or chest pain and need admission. The spouse or partner with mild dementia is unable to stay at home due to safety reasons. I have spent a few festive seasons trying to organise respite care for those patients and have even had to admit a few to an acute medical bed.
So, it’s a good idea to have a plan and good communication with friends and family to ensure safety and care of the vulnerable. Those with mild dementia can cope at home but become more vulnerable and confused in a holiday environment so require extra watching to ensure they don’t wander into harm’s way. We also see a spike in self-harm this time of year as the lonely can get lonelier. Sometimes just a phone call can make a difference.
So now you have everyone else covered, how about you? Are you going to relax and go with the flow or get wound up if people and events don’t meet your expectations?
The irony of this time of year is that we get so wound up and look forward to a break, and there is so much to do, that it’s almost more stressful than work. You can’t control the traffic queues, but you can control your reaction to them. Taking unnecessary risks leads to road trauma and many of my Christmases are haunted by the images of telling loved ones that someone has died in an accident. Domestic violence fuelled by alcohol and drugs also rears its ugly head while many are relaxing on beaches elsewhere.
I amsure all of us involved in emergency services wish you a Merry Christmas and a peaceful festive season. We have families as well and hope that you get to enjoy your time with yours, rather than see us.
We are here if you need us, but some planning and risk avoidance would be a great Christmas present so you are with your loved ones for years to come. 123RF ● Dr Tom Mulholland is an emergency department doctor and GP with more than 25 years’ experience in New Zealand. He’s currently on a mission, tackling health missions around the world.