'A second family' - Health staff on working Christmas Day

Updated / Wednesday, 24 Dec 2025 07:39 Thousands give up spending time with their own family, so they can help the families of loved ones who need hospital treatment on Christmas Day (stock image) Andrew Lowth By Andrew Lowth While many families will sit down for Christmas festivities, whether it is the traditional dinner, the movies or television specials and even some board games, there are thousands who will be short at least one member for a portion of the day, as they work in the country’s hospitals. Thousands of doctors, nurses, midwives, paramedics, chefs, laboratory attendants, chaplains and support staff are on hand throughout the day, with more making themselves available on-call when needed. They give up spending time with their own family, so they can help the families of loved ones who need hospital treatment on the day, whether it is for a sudden illness, regular treatment such as dialysis or for the arrival of a Christmas miracle in one of the maternity hospitals. Dr Frank Ward, nephrology and general medicine consultant at Tallaght University Hospital in Dublin, is one of the thousands who will be working on Christmas Day. "There is a sacrifice for the staff to be there, obviously, to look after those patients, but really there's a lot of solace in supporting those patients during that time when they're sick in hospital and in need," he told RTÉ's Morning Ireland. He added: "There's a camaraderie around the hospital. It’s like a second family, even if the healthcare workers can't be at home with their own families for that period of time. "There's lots of activities going around the hospital. Simple things from boxes of chocolates on the wards to the Christmas tree competition that that runs between the wards - there's a nice atmosphere around the hospital." Dr Ward said the level of required care levels remain the same across the board, which for some patients can be quite difficult. "Some may be quite well but just aren't in a position to get home. Others are very sick and like every other time of the year, they're patients who are getting their end-of-life care," he said. "For many patients around Christmas Day and the holidays, they may have plenty of visitors, families, friends calling in if they're in the vicinity. "But there are many who don't have anyone calling in and really their interaction with the other patients and their interaction with the healthcare staff is really probably what helps get them through the holiday period." 'The babies don't know that it's Christmas' Clare Smyth, Clinical Midwife at The Coombe Hospital in Dublin, works on Christmas Day every second year and has done so since she started working in healthcare in 1998. "I put on Paul Brady’s song [Working At Christmas]. That's my personal Christmas tradition driving up the road, coming into work," she said. She says she would rather be at home; however, she acknowledges it’s just part of her job. "You'd prefer to...

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