But this is a shout out especially to Yandilla at Wimmera Base Hospital.

These are the men and women who dress up in festive clothing and jewellery, play carols – probably louder than they should – as well as sharing a ginger beer with you while the carols are on, or sharing a coffee with you until your husband arrives, and who greet you upon waking and every shift change with a hearty Merry Christmas.

These men and women don’t have 9am to 5pm jobs – they have 24 hours, seven days a week and 365 days a year kind of jobs.

They don’t whinge and bemoan it.

They sacrifice time with their family to make sure your day is a little less lonely and a little more warm.

They get toys from the playroom for your toddler. They let your toddler use the stethoscope and explain that the baby is okay – and that they are listening to his heart. 

They help dress your newborn in his Christmas outfit so you can have a family photo – and they take said photo.

They are Christmas angels and on behalf of our little family we say thank you.

This could also be extended to all emergency service personnel. We just focused on hospital staff as that was our experience this year. 

D. and L. Woods, Warracknabeal

WHAT would you do if you found an injured native animal?

While it might seem like a nice idea to take it home and care for it, the right thing to do is contact an authorised wildlife shelter.

Sick or injured native wildlife needs specialised care by trained carers. 

Across Victoria, there are volunteer wildlife shelter operators and carers who are authorised by the Department of Land, Environment, Water and Planning to provide appropriate handling, feeding and housing as well as rehabilitation. 

If you do find an injured animal, approach with caution, keep physical interaction to a minimum and contact an authorised wildlife shelter immediately.

Call DELWP on 136 186 for details of wildlife carers or check our website www.wildlife.vic.gov.au/sick-injured-or-orphaned for a list of rehabilitation organisations.

Grant Allan, regional manager environmental compliance, Department of Land, Environment, Water and Planning

IT’S hot and getting hotter. While we struggle to cope, let’s not forget our companion animals.

The past two years – 2016 and 17 – have set records as the hottest ever.  

It’s not even the middle of summer yet, but we are already seeing reports of highways melting and people are being warned that the extreme heat can be a killer.

PETA receives reports every year about animals who suffer horrifying deaths during the summer months. 

Never leave an animal in a parked car in warm weather, even for short periods with the windows slightly open. On even a mild 30-degree day, the temperature inside of a car parked in the sun can reach 54 degrees in just minutes.

Dogs need their exercise, but in summer, it's best to do that early in the morning.

Think about the surfaces they will be treading and try to walk on grass or in the shade. You have shoes; they do not.

Make sure they don't pick up any dropped food – it spoils fast in hot weather.

Avoid exercising in the heat of the day – some dogs will keep running until they go into heatstroke.

Dogs can also get sunburnt, particularly if they are pale in colour or like to bake their tummies. You can use sunscreen, but not the ones with zinc or salicylates as they can be toxic if licked.

Indoor animals can also overheat if they like to sleep near a window: make sure there is somewhere shady they can move to.

Always make sure there is plenty of cool, fresh water for them to drink.

Desmond Bellamy, special projects co-ordinator, PETA Australia

PEOPLE can take action to help reduce the eight million tonnes of plastic that is choking our oceans each year by signing up for 2018 Clean Up Australia Day.

The national event on Sunday, March 4 is the opportunity for all Australians everywhere to bring family, friends, neighbours and colleagues together to take action to protect their local environment to remove rubbish before it damages our precious parks, bushland, waterways and oceans.

Clean Up Australia Day is the ideal time to take action. All you have to do is register your location, grab your volunteers and have fun on the day.

Online registrations are now open at www.cleanupaustraliaday.org.au 

If everyone took responsibility for the small stuff, it wouldn’t steamroll into the environmental disaster we are facing in the state of our oceans and waterways.

If picking up rubbish is not your thing, there is another way you can get involved.

Clean Up Australia is owned by the community and in 2018 all Australians are urged to support participants by either sponsoring a site or donating via the website or Facebook.

All monies raised are allocated to the purchase of materials provided free of charge to community, schools and youth groups across the nation – all year round.

Across the past 27 years, volunteers have donated more than 32 million hours at more than 171,000 locations across the country. Together they have removed the equivalent of 344,000 ute loads of rubbish.

Ian Kiernan AO, chairman and founder, Clean Up Australia