Bodily Fluids: Five Decades of Blood, Phlegm and Bile on the Hospital Frontline
Author: 978-1-78563-431-4
ISBN-13: Liam Hughes
Publisher: Eye Books
Guideline Price: £10.99
Some medical writers strive to understand and improve medical outcomes; some share their fascination with human physiology, illness and treatment; while others strive to sensitively convey the stresses and wry humour that can coexist in patient care. Healthcare writers share the immense privilege of being granted access to the lives of patients facing illness and death. It takes great skill to do this while honouring those who entrust us with their care.
Liam Hughes is a retired NHS interventional cardiologist with five decades of experience. His dedication is evident from this reflection on his years in practice. His primary aim in Bodily Fluids is to entertain, but Hughes also wishes to educate and to convey his views on healthcare reform. The majority of the content is dedicated to reminiscences and memories of humorous professional experiences. This type of reflection works well when delivered with humility and grace. Hughes does this less successfully.
The author may be a skilled raconteur in person, but in print, his tone at times is problematic. Stories of drunken doctors and sexual escapades with nurses will not be to everyone’s taste. Hughes acknowledges that some of his stories will “smack of misogyny”. He is right. They do. This, and some instances where the patient might be perceived as the object of the humour can make for uncomfortable reading.
Bodily Fluids is nostalgic about historical healthcare practices. His experience and perspectives are potentially of value and he devotes his final chapters to recommendations for change. This would be more successful if supported by examples demonstrating improved patient outcomes. Without these, his pleas to return to the ways of the past are unconvincing. Even less so when combined with nostalgia for a time when hospitals had “multiple separate dining rooms, for non-medical staff, nurses, junior doctors and consultants”.
The final chapter describes a clinical case where Hughes strongly felt that his experience and judgment were not acknowledged and supported by hospital management. This is an interesting choice of concluding message and is one of a number of instances where Hughes revisits situations where he “was right” and others “were wrong”. He may well be correct, but this approach is of limited appeal to many who might otherwise have a keen interest in more nuanced and patient-centred medical writing.
Dr Des McMahon is a consultant in palliative medicine, St Vincent’s University Hospital and Our Lady’s Hospice & Care Services.