Saturday statistics

Twelve days,and 1 weekend before Christmas,and in the middle of a gale-driven rain storm there were already 5 patients waiting when we opened the door at 08h00 today.

Seventy patients had booked in by 13h00 although only another 62 had booked in by the time we closed at 21h30.

I saw 34 of the patients:-

1. 1 PFO with unknown mechanism-of-injury resulting in a sprained left wrist
2. 5 young women with UTI symptoms
3. 1 acute-exacerbation-of -asthma
4. 1 baby with impetigo
5. (All the babies were cute)
6. 26 patients with viral URTI's
7. 2 of the patients apologised for not having had a shower before attending
8. 7 didn't,but should have
9. 2 patients returned my initial greeting
10. No one said goodbye although 3 parents said 'thank you'
11. 24 complained aggressively when I declined to prescribe antibiotics for their viral illness
12. 3 filled in a complaint form
13. 1 patient wanted to hit me until I stood up and picked up my trauma shears...which I leave conveniently on my desk
14. 12 are unemployed and on income support or incapacity benefit-all of them are smokers and all have a cell phone
15. 1 of them had just been on holiday in Europe for 6 days
16. 97% of the patients were ugly and their mothers had dressed them funny
17. 2 of the babies were FLK's,with FLP's
18. 3 people wished me a Happy Christmas
19. 11 is the number of slices that Julian managed to get from an M&S 2-for-1 Swiss Roll
20. 39.9C was the temperature of the sickest child I saw today
21. 73m is the length of tinsel that has been put up in the Unit today by Julian
22. 2 referrals made to orthopaedics-one for a colleagues patient
23. No patients in the Resus Room today
24. Only 2 patients asked me what part of Australia I came from
25. 3 is the amount of mince-pies with custard that I ate when I got home this evening