Geoff had endured a long morning in the out-patient clinic and a number of patients had become irritated at having to wait beyond the time of their appointments. Regrettably, this was not an unusual event, indeed it was par for the course when his boss Mr Stephens was in the clinic. The consultant frequently became so engrossed teaching the students that he completely lost track of time.
It was already one fifteen, and Geoff was weary. He’d worked without a break since eight-thirty. His mid- morning drink had been taken ‘on the go’ between patients, gulped down whilst recording one of the many consultations he had conducted. He had already seen fifteen or sixteen post-operative patients for their routine follow-up appointments. He’d checked their wounds, ensured that there were no untoward complications and discharged them. In addition, there had been a number of new patients, including a child with an in growing toenail and a couple of women with varicose veins.
Geoff turned and spoke into the microphone to call his final patient from the waiting area, a seven year old boy called Martin Bates.
‘Master Bates please, for room two please.’
Ten seconds later, the door burst open, and Paul was confronted by a very angry young mother.
‘I suppose you think that’s funny.’ Mrs Bates blazed, her son in tow behind her.
‘You keep us waiting for three-quarters of an hour and then make fun of my boy.’
Geoff was nonplussed. He didn’t understand her remark, nor did he comprehend why she should be angry.
‘I’m sorry,’ he said, looking bemused. ‘I know we’ve got behind schedule this morning, and I apologise for that; it’s been a very busy clinic, but I don’t understand how I’ve upset your lad.’
‘You should have called him by his first name, ‘Martin’, like everyone else does. Instead, you shout ‘Master Bates’ like that over the loudspeaker for everyone to hear. Don’t you think he gets teased enough at school by the older boys? They don’t realise the hurt they cause, but you…. a doctor……’ In her anger, she left the sentence unfinished.
Suddenly, the penny dropped. ‘Master Bates – masturbates’. Geoff was horrified. It had been a totally innocent mistake, yet he immediately saw the upset he had caused, particularly if the boy was being bullied or victimised at school, simply because of his name.
‘Look, I’m most awfully sorry,’ he spluttered. ‘I just didn’t realise. I truly never even thought there could be a double meaning.Please forgive me.’
Mrs Bates looked daggers at him. ‘Well, you really need to be more careful,’ she stormed, ‘particularly as he has this problem with his ‘little Johnny’. He’s a sensitive lad and easily gets upset.’
Geoff held up both hands. ‘Look, all I can do is to apologise; I simply didn’t realise.’
Martin’s mother said nothing in response, she just glared at him in silence, her arm protectively round her son. The consultation proceeded in an icy atmosphere.
In due course, Geoff explained to her the ‘pros and cons’ of a circumcision operation, before arranging for the lad’s name to be added to the waiting list for surgery. He was relieved that she was so keen to get away from him that she didn’t ask how long they would have to wait. He wouldn’t have relished informing her the waiting time was likely to be between five and six months!
Quotation for the Day
You know the trouble with the French; they don’t even have a word for entrepreneur. George W Bush