An esteemed colleague of mine said to me as I left work this morning that we’re standing on a cliff edge. On my way back to work – on a Saturday night, no less – I thought about all the conversations I have had with my co-workers over the last few weeks. And I realised we’re not on the edge at all. We’re like the cartoon coyote running way past the edge, and hovering in mid-air. The only reason we haven’t started free falling is because we haven’t looked down; because we all know that when the coyote looks down, that is when he falls to the ground below.

That’s what we’re doing right now. Every night our entire team – paramedics, nurses, dispatchers, DOMs, managers, doctors, and allied health staff – carry the burden of a failing health care system that is short-staffed and overworked.

We’re just putting fingers into that dam wall. We just haven’t looked down. That’s it.

I don’t intend to look down. I did once, and it broke me. I will hope to continue to be kind to my colleagues, my patients, and everyone I come across. And I hope you feel kindness and gratitude, because that’s what you deserve.

Rachel Hughes, EN