Providing patient care in hospitals over Christmas presents unique challenges for healthcare workers, who must also try to create a festive atmosphere and bring holiday cheer.
It’s not easy for either hospital staff or patients, as Christmas is traditionally a time to come together with loved ones and enjoy the celebration. Being in hospital can be a particularly distressing time when yuletide plans have gone wrong.
Ironically, the festive plans could have caused a visit to the A&E department, as unfortunately, the number of accidents at this time of year is considerably higher than normal.
Christmas accident statistics
The Christmas break is both exciting and stressful, as a combination of cooking, drinking alcohol, having visitors in your home and having Christmas decorations with candles can all create potential hazards.
The most common type of accident is tripping and falling, as a staggering 2.6 million UK revellers fall over Christmas, both at home and in the workplace. Standing on an unstable chair to decorate the top of the tree causes around 1,000 casualties annually.
People are 50% more likely to suffer a house fire due to the increased amount of cooking, especially if they’ve been drinking alcohol. Christmas tree lights can cause an electric shock, while candles can set alight the tree and decorations.
Around 350 people in the UK suffer a fairy light related accident every Christmas including electric shocks and burns, falling while hanging the lights up and children swallowing small bulbs.
Food poisoning is another common cause of hospitalisation, especially through not defrosting and cooking the turkey properly, despite NHS guidelines. Every Christmas, there are around one million cases in the UK, including salmonella, which can be fatal for the young, old and frail.
Accidents in the kitchen are common, with 49% of Brits having had an accident of some kind while preparing the Christmas dinner. Using pans of boiling water, moving hot food around and using sharp knives are all potentially hazardous: 10% of people have ended up in A&E through spilling boiling hot fat on themselves.
Other accidents include elderly people tripping over toys strewn over the floor and giving kids inappropriate toys with small parts that can be swallowed. Trying to open firmly-wrapped presents as quickly as possible on Christmas morning using scissors, a knife or other tools also causes cuts that may need stitches.
It’s easy to see why A&E departments are always extremely busy over the festive break and why spending Christmas in a hospital is a very real possibility for many of us.
What challenges do hospitals face over Christmas?
Hospitals at Christmas can be extremely challenging places for both medical and cleaning staff. As well as increased accidents and injuries, there’s usually increased patient volume, as it’s flu season. It’s also a time for other seasonal illnesses such as respiratory issues, pneumonia, Covid and hypothermia, which can all leave people with an unexpected hospital stay.
In December 2023, flu cases increased six-fold since the previous month, according to data from the NHS. An average 940 patients were being treated in hospital for flu on any given day. The vomiting and diarrhoea bug, Norovirus, was also a problem, with an average 452 patients being in hospital each day in December 2023 due to an outbreak - an increase of 61% on the same period in 2022.
Despite the influx, hospital workers still try to create a festive atmosphere for patients and staff who can’t spend Christmas at home. While they always prioritise patient care, they also make the effort to decorate the wards, provide festive meals and organise small celebrations.
Christmas for hospital employees
Healthcare staff striving to make it a happy Christmas for patients don’t have much time to enjoy the festivities themselves. The decorations must be planned carefully to ensure patient safety and the areas around them must still be cleaned regularly to prevent hygiene issues.
Decorations must be kept away from areas where clinical procedures take place and should be of a high quality, so they can be disposed of in accordance with the hospital’s policies on waste disposal.
Preventing the spread of infection and bacteria is important all year round and must be maintained during the festive season, especially since there may be an influx of visitors. The greater patient and visitor numbers with families visiting can increase the risk of infections spreading.
Hospitals need to manage visitor flow to prevent overcrowding, reduce infection risks and maintain high levels of patient care. Infection control is crucial: high-quality hygiene products play an integral role in keeping bacteria and viruses at bay.
Gloveman Supplies’ essential hygiene products , such as disposable gloves, sanitisers and surface disinfectants, are all crucial components of Christmas healthcare.
Supporting hospital staff
As the hospital staff's work environment changes over Christmas, it can be a particularly stressful time. Hospitals must support their employees, who are working long hours during the holidays, often without seeing their families.
Allowing staff to work flexibly can be a massive benefit, enabling them to have a good work-life balance at a time of year when it’s easy to lapse into depression or exhaustion. Carefully planning the schedule in advance is the key to ensuring adequate staffing levels without overloading workers.
Many employers also plan festive activities for the team at some point such as social gatherings, decorating the staff room, providing special food for the workforce, or a TV so they can relax with festive viewing during their breaks.
It’s also important to allow access to the appropriate wellbeing resources, including mental health support, should staff need it during the Christmas period. It’s never easy, so a modern trend is hospitals allowing staff to invite guests for a short period over the holidays so they don’t miss out altogether.
While hygiene is always crucial, hospitals still want patients, staff and visitors to feel comfortable, so balancing strict infection control with creating a warm, welcoming environment is key.
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