It's amazing what comes through the childrens' emergency door on a public holiday. A three year old boy with a foot turning inwards for most of his walking life. A six week old baby who cries. A boy who's had a sore heel (only when he jumps) for 4 months. Oh, and that episode of bleeding from his back passage (after being constipated) 3 months ago. The family was from the UK, but thought they'd stop into hospital while they were over here to get some long standing problems sorted. Just a few of the 90 patients that I was lucky enough to see on Monday during my shift. Our usual average per day is around 100. We'd reached 90 by 5pm, with 7 hours remaining. Ah, imagine having a public holiday AS a holiday, like every other normal person in this country! Unfathomable...
