Gus
‘You missed Christmas Eve with the fiancée then, love?’ she asked, handing him a continuation sheet with the patient’s neatly printed name label fixed to the top corner.
‘Yeah. Shame. Still, I’m sure she’ll have had a perfectly enjoyable evening without me.’ This was almost certainly true.
The diversionary tactic was successful. Barbara patted his shoulder and slid an open tin of Quality Streets across the desk towards him. ‘I’ll leave you to it,’ she said kindly. ‘Cuppa?’
He shook his head and gave her one of his best beaming smiles as he unwrapped a strawberry cream.
‘You’re a star, Barb, but no, thanks. I’ll head off to the mess once I’ve finished updating this.
Bleep me when his family turn up though?
I’ll come and talk to them as soon as they get here, even if my shift’s finished. ’
She looked at him fondly. ‘I know you will, love. You always come when we need you. And you don’t make a big song and dance about it. Not like some of the other doctors I could mention.’ She pursed her lips.
‘I think everyone’s just busy, Barb,’ said Gus easily. ‘And the shift pattern, it’s a bit odd over Christmas. It makes a people a bit short-tempered.’
‘No excuse for being rude though, is there? No need for it neither.’ She folded her arms across her ample bosom.
‘You talking about Karen?’ Gus stifled a yawn; he knew when he was being led into a gossipy whinge. The HDU nurses were not enormous fans of his senior colleague Dr Karen Stringer. Mainly because she had no qualms about refusing tasks that she thought were beneath her.
‘I couldn’t possibly say.’ Barbara’s expression was arch. ‘But if certain people think they can swan around barking orders at us and questioning our decisions every moment… If certain people, who shall remain nameless, think they’re too big and important to attend to patients…’
Gus wanted to point out that despite Karen’s aggressive demeanour she never let patient care suffer.
She may have been bossy and domineering but she was an excellent doctor.
However, he knew that if he said this to Barbara she might see him as siding with the medical establishment– pulling rank.
And he wanted to stay on the right side of all the HDU nurses, just like he wanted to stay on the right side of everyone.
He kept quiet and let her finish her rant.
‘Anyway, we know that if we want a job doing, we won’t be bleeping her in a hurry,’ Barbara said once she’d enumerated all of Karen’s shortcomings. ‘We always call you instead.’ Her expression softened. ‘And you’ll be here with a smile on your face, whatever the hour.’
Gus briefly wondered how many tasks Karen had managed to avoid simply by cultivating the reputation of being a bitch.
It was all well and good him being the default nice chap who nobody was scared of, but it probably meant he ended up dealing with more trivial stuff than perhaps he should, just to keep people happy.
His expression must have given away something of his reservations because Barbara looked at him closely.
‘You’re tired,’ she said. ‘Get yourself off to the mess as soon as you’re done with those notes, okay?
’ She made to head for the staff kitchen and then stopped.
‘Although,’ she said, ‘I know it’s cheeky, but would you mind just taking a look at bed five’s cannula before you head off?
And if you could pop your head around the curtain of bed nine, have a word with his wife about the tracheostomy?
She’d really appreciate it.’ She took another step.
‘Oh, and there’s a bit of tinsel… I know it’s daft, but none of the girls can reach it.
It’s come unstuck above the door to the toilets and it’s just dangling there like a festive snake. I don’t suppose you could…’
Gus resisted the temptation to look pointedly at his watch. ‘Of course, Barb,’ he said.
She beamed at him. ‘You’re a little Christmas angel,’ she said making a move towards the staff kitchen area.
Gus tucked himself behind the computer screen, smiling as he heard her admonishing one of the junior nurses who was moving stealthily in his direction armed with a piece of plastic mistletoe.
‘No, Janine,’ Barbara hissed. ‘He’s busy. Leave him alone. Anyway, I’m not sure that conforms to health and safety standards– is it even wipe-clean?’