Have you ever watched 24 Hours in A&E?

One of them shows you stick on for five minutes… and before you know it, you’re an hour deep, fully invested in some poor lad who’s slipped off a ladder trying to fix his shed roof. We Brits love a bit of reality telly, don’t we? Bake Off, Strictly, even that daft one where they all get married without meeting.

Anyway – last week, I ended up living my own episode. Don’t worry – I’m all good now and I’m not looking for sympathy, just telling the tale… Now, we’re blessed to have free healthcare here, and I am very grateful for that… but we’re not known for speedy healthcare – any trip to A&E always means a long wait and a lot of time spent counting the minutes on the clock. So I’d prepared for this. Packed my phone, laptop, Kindle… thought I’d make the most of the wait and catch up on a few bits. Emails maybe, bit of reading. But in the end, I didn’t even pick them up… 

You see, I ended up people watching instead – and what a show that was. Blokes stumbling in drunk. Someone shouting about a scooter accident. One lad with his ankle hanging in a direction ankles really shouldn’t. Another fella came in with his head pouring blood… But amongst all the noise and chaos, one thing really stood out. The staff. They didn’t flap. Didn’t lose their cool. They just got on with it – calm, confident, clear-headed. There was no messing about. Everyone knew what they were doing, where they needed to be, and what had to happen next. It was all fast-paced, but somehow still organised. You could tell this wasn’t their first rodeo.

Yes, I did end up in A&E for nearly 8 hours, but that was down to the sheer volume of people they were processing – not down to their processes or team failure. The systems were tight. The communication was spot on. And the teamwork?  That was the bit that really impressed me. Everyone working together, calmly, collectively and totally unrattled no matter what came through the door. 

It got me thinking – when everything kicks off in your world, what happens? When the pressure’s on and things aren’t going to plan, can your team stay calm and carry on? Have you got the right people in the right places, or is it a bit of a free-for-all? And more importantly, does everyone know what “good” looks like when things go sideways? Because let’s be honest – anyone can keep it together when it’s all going smoothly. But when the pressure ramps up? That’s when you see what people – and teams – are really made of.

So, how does your lot handle the chaos? I’d love to hear your thoughts…