Cari Hunter blogs

Out with the Old… – New Year’s Eve on shift with a Paramedic

New Year’s Eve 2016 falls on the third of my four weekend night shifts, which means I wander onto station in a pleasant haze of sleeplessness, with a nonexistent short-term memory. Festive cheer has bedecked the main table with assorted foodstuffs, while the generally inedible company-issue sandwich packs (for morale!) have been rammed into the fridge. I’m working with K, my best mate, who recently qualified as a paramedic. We stock up on essentials – chocolate, crisps, more chocolate – and, since the only other option in the garage is a shitty Fiat, we bagsy the Mercedes. Signing on takes place amidst a frantic frenzy of provision stowing – “Where can the dips go?!” – and the day shift controller wishes us luck before sending us straight out to a fall in a residential home.

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