SUSPECTED Ebola cases, car accidents and a farmer bitten by a pig – nurses in the emergency department can never predict what will happen during their shifts.

Over the last 12 months Salisbury District Hospital’s A&E has dealt with everything from the Salisbury Plain crash in June, with 11 soldiers injured in a training exercise when three army vehicles crashed, to those erroneously believing the hospital is the place to go when suffering from coughs and colds.

Nickola Gipp, directorate senior nurse for emergency medicine and lead for the emergency department, said: “We see around 120-130 patients a day.

“We endeavour to see all our patients within four hours but it can be quite a challenge especially this time of year with winter pressures.

“When patients are in the waiting room it can be hard for them to understand why they are waiting, they aren’t able to see what may be happening in the resuscitation room and they aren’t able to see the numerous ambulances arriving as they come through a different route.

“It might not look as though a lot is going on but often in the background there is.”

The team is made up of around 50 nurses and health care support workers, alongside emergency nurse practitioners who, like doctors, can see and discharge patients. The team also includes administrative staff, receptionists, cleaners and physiotherapists.

The department has junior doctors and nine consultants who provide a seven day service and are always present from 8am to midnight to provide a senior decision early on in patient care and extra support for the junior doctors.

“Sixty five per cent of patients that we see are classed as minor injuries with 35 to 40 per cent being more serious,” Nickola says.

Joining Salisbury District Hospital in March 2014, Nickola previously worked in London at St George’s Hospital and The Whittington Hospital.

Wanting a change from life in London and looking for something more rural, she liked the idea of Salisbury not being a huge tertiary hospital but not a small district hospital either.

“This is a nice balance,” she said. “I have family in Bournemouth and the New Forest and there were job opportunities here when I was looking.

“Every A&E team is a bit unique and we often have a great sense of humour which keeps everyone going.

I love the teamwork, the camaraderie and not knowing what’s going to happen next. One second you are crying with each other and the next, laughing.

“We have a really great team who love working here, they are committed and dedicated to the care they provide and we get lovely feedback to support this. A thank you from patients goes a long way and we all really appreciate that.”