Christmas is a bloody nightmare.... our off duty is done 2 months in advance, with 11 on every shift, by yesterday i was down to 8 (sickness) by then people won't move shifts to cover. i work in an ITU, and we had relatives refusing to allow their dependants to be moved to other hospitals, becasue we had become overloaded and patients we no longer getting a safe level of care..... the public really don't understand how poorly resourced the NHS really is, and that only the goodwill of its employees keeps it a decent level of service. all that "investment" was what should have been given anyway just to bring it up to a decent level, not "improve" it. now breathe in, hoooooold, aaaaaaaaaaaand relax :) i feel better now for that rant. Happy New Year