My crazy night in A&E — thanks to a full moon

THE supermoon this week made me think of my colleagues working in A&E, as staff there tend to be superstitious about full moons.

Early on in my training in A&E, I was put on the front line dealing with all the acutely mentally unwell patients who walked through the door.

‘Ready for tonight, then?’ smirked a nurse as I arrived one night. ‘What do you mean?’ I asked. ‘It’s a full moon tonight,’ she whispered conspiratorially.

This irrational fear of a full moon is thanks to the ancient Greeks, who thought that madness was caused by too much moisture in the brain. Just as the moon affects the tides, they believed it was linked with mental illness, too.

The Romans shared this theory. In fact, it was commonly accepted by the medical profession until very recently that the phases of the moon exacerbated madness.

By 3am that particular night, I’d seen eight patients and admitted four — and there were many more waiting. Just as dawn began to break, I came to my last patient. ‘Hello, Mrs Armstrong, sorry about the wait,’ I said. ‘It’s because of the full moon,’ I added.

‘Oh, don’t tell me you believe that?’ she scolded.

Walking home, I reminded myself that I was a man of science. Some nights are busy and others less so: I’d just had a bad shift, that’s all.

Even so, I was mindful not to let any black cats cross my path. Just in case.