The Patient Read Online Free PDF Page A

to be looked after the way that bloody minister would expect to be if he came in here sick.’
    â€˜What did you expect?’ said one of the nurses. ‘He wants to be re-elected. He’s not there to bring genuine reforms to the system. And even if he did, you doctors wouldn’t let him. Remember last year when I got that grant to improvethe patient’s journey through the health-care system? You doctors torpedoed it.’
    â€˜The doctors didn’t torpedo your project. Nobody understood what the hell you meant when you said you wanted to “improve the patient journey”. It was airy-fairy, hand-holding bullshit. The money all got frittered away on useless reports.’
    The nurse shook her head with disgust.
    Tracy got up and said to her, ‘Excuse me.’
    â€˜Yeah?’ the nurse replied.
    â€˜We’ve been waiting quite a while. Do you know when a doctor might see my husband?’ As Tracy spoke, the doctor edged away and the other nurse departed with him.
    â€˜You’ll just have to take your turn, love,’ said the nurse, and she walked away rapidly to join the others.
    Tracy turned around to see looks of quiet satisfaction on the faces of the patients who had been waiting all night. No one has any special rights here, lady, their expressions seemed to say. We all get treated like shit. Though Jonathan felt individual, he was but one of an ocean of patients using the Emergency department that day, and every day, in every hospital, in every part of the world.

    From the time Jonathan gave his name at reception, he waited a total of eight hours before being seen by an Emergency doctor. By lunchtime, he had been beside himself with impatience. He had got up to complain several times about the wait. Each time, the clerk had said, ‘I’ll see what I can do,’ then she had got on with her work without a second’s thought about Jonathan. Tracy had called to cancelher clients and that night’s dinner. Jonathan had rung work to say he wasn’t coming in. He had tried to simply leave a message, but the receptionist had insisted on putting him through to his boss, Paul Carter, who’d been concerned about making sure his presentation could be handed over to someone else. Jonathan had suggested delaying the meeting, but Paul had insisted that this was not an option. If Jonathan was unable to be there, then Jake – Jonathan’s arch-competitor – would do the presentation for him. Jonathan had asked to be put through to his secretary and had given the necessary instructions somewhat reluctantly.
    The board meeting was going ahead without him, and Jonathan was no closer to being seen by a doctor. He was tired of waiting, distressed at Jake stepping into his shoes and impatient to leave. On top of it all, everywhere he looked there were more off-putting smelly patients.
    Tracy had sensed what he was thinking. She’d quietly placed her hand in his lap in a reassuring gesture.
    It had been a further two hours before he was sitting on a trolley in the non-acute end of the Emergency department of the Victoria Hospital.

4
    The doctor, who spoke with a heavy Greek accent, was a beautiful, fine-featured blonde woman dressed in a bright-red sleeveless short dress that accentuated the golden colour of her hair and the deep blue of her eyes, which must, thought Jonathan, give her an irresistible hold on almost every man who cast his fortunate eyes upon her. He was enthralled and was having trouble dragging his gaze away from her breasts. Her nipples protruded through her dress – she didn’t seem to be wearing a bra. She took a sip from a cardboard cup, and a little cappuccino froth stuck to her upper lip. Slowly, she licked it off, as if to tease her male patient into total slave-like submission.
    â€˜So, tell me what happened,’ she said.
    â€˜I’m fine, really. My’ – he was going to say ‘wife’ but changed