Blog 65 Football fans suffer strange injuries
November 26, 2021Wishing that I could be watching the football match at Old Trafford instead of working in the Casualty Dept at the Infirmary, I was busy treating patients with various lumps, bumps and bruises when three teenage boys arrived. They had been watching Manchester United play Manchester City. I can’t remember now whether it was a […] Read more
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Blog 64 The Doctor and the Lottery Ticket
October 23, 2021Working for the general practitioner’s night call service, I was sitting in our medical centre with Dave Morrison, my regular driver. It was two in the morning and all was quiet. We’d already undertaken a couple of visits, neither terribly dramatic, and were waiting to see what else turned up. If it remained quiet for […] Read more
Blog 63 How NOT to ask for a reference
September 6, 2021It was always going to be a difficult letter to write. I’d got on the wrong side of the boss from my very first day in the job. ‘Report at 9 am to the Administration Department’ the letter had said, which is precisely what I did. It was scarcely my fault that my new boss had instructed the […] Read more
Blog 62 Apple Blossom Time
August 11, 2021Elsie’s committed suicide in the hospital bathroom. She bought the razor blade in the shop downstairs and by the time the nurse found her the water was as red as the body was white. The bathroom door’s locked now, but Elsie’s still inside, and the nurses are whispering in corners when they don’t think we […] Read more
Blog 61 Aging with dignity
July 5, 2021As a young man, I often heard old folks remark, usually with a sad smile and a knowing shake of the head, ‘Growing old is no fun, you know’. At the time, I didn’t take much notice but I’m now beginning to understand what they meant. I’m discovering that Old Father Time creeps up on you insidiously. […] Read more
Blog 60 Waiting. The patient’s wife
June 7, 2021Alice Fielding, her face lined and anxious, rang her daughter, Mary. Thanks to an earlier call, Mary already knew that her dad had collapse and been rushed to the hospital. She had collected her little girl from the nursery and had been having their dinner when the call came through. She promised to come as […] Read more
Blog 59 Belatedly reaching the Correct Diagnosis
April 12, 2021Thursday afternoon was the time each week that John set aside for his clerical and administrative work. It was a chance to sit in his room, close the door, and work for a couple of hours, free of interruptions. He started by clearing the requests for repeat prescriptions. It didn’t him take long and was […] Read more
Blog 58 Hanky Panky in the nurses’ residency
March 26, 2021Scene; the Nurses Home, Manchester Royal Infirmary, 1970 In those days, men were strictly forbidden to enter any bedroom in the Nurses Home and, unless you had a late pass, nurses had to return to the Nurses Home before 10 pm. One morning, a cleaner entered a nurse’s room and, shock horror, found a man […] Read more
Blog 57 The lady with the ‘full obstetric history’
March 9, 2021The Consultant Obstetrician in the Lancashire hospital had given the fresh-faced medical students a tutorial. He’d taught them how to take a good and complete obstetrical history emphasising the need to enquire about the age of menarche, details of menstrual cycle, marital status, use of contraceptives and so on. He then led them on to […] Read more
Blog 56 The Hypochondriac
February 5, 2021Brian was one of the world’s worst hypochondriacs. One day, whilst shopping in the supermarket, he spotted his doctor in an adjacent aisle. He dashed over to share his concerns about his latest medical complaint. ‘Doctor, Doctor,’ Brian exclaimed. ‘I’m so relieved to have bumped into you. I need your advice. I know I ought […] Read more
