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Marjorie Black (43) from Warrington has been struck off as a medical receptionist following the death of one of her patients.


Mrs Black’s assessment of the man’s medical history was described by the GMRC as ‘cursory’ and despite making him strip to his underpants in a packed waiting room she failed to detect an obvious crackle in his lungs. In mitigation she pointed out that the wolf-whistles and jokey comments of other patients was a distraction, and her stethoscope had come from Amazon and might have been meant as a toy.


The GMRC absolved the surgery itself of any malpractice, finding that correct procedure had been followed. The patient had been assessed by a fully-trained receptionist and a full complement of qualified doctors was nearby.


Mrs Black described the hearing as ‘a nightmare’ but says she has no regrets about pursuing a career in medical reception. “What other minimum wage job gives you so much juicy gossip about your neighbours? I got to do about 80% of what a doctor does and they have to spend, like, 5 years at medical school then another 3 years on hospital rotations, whereas I just had to do a two-day course and I was good to go. Makes you wonder what they waste most of their time on”.




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First published 7 Sep 2022


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If you’ve made it past your GP (well done) and a battery of tests, and you’ve got medical support for an operation, then Good News!  You can now choose where to have your NHS operation, and you are guaranteed a choice of at least five hospitals.


Here’s how it works:


You can go to your nearest NHS hospital.   For reasons to do with economies of scale and budgetary constraints, it’s 10–15 miles away.  Various transport options are available, but it would be brilliant if you could drive.   Convenient for you, and twenty to fifty quid in parking charges for the hospital.  Its clinical ratings are average, if you ignore the maternity scandal.


You can go to your next nearest NHS hospital, which is 15-30 miles away.  The only transport option is to drive.   Why would there be public transport to a hospital 30 miles away?   The clinical ratings are average, if you ignore the organ harvesting scandal.


Your third, fourth and fifth choices are all a long way away.  You will need to book a hotel.  The clinical ratings are average if you ignore (a) the doctor that was on Panorama and got struck off, (b) the damage done by collapsing ceilings because of RAAC cement and (c) any problems caused by understaffing and underqualified North Korean doctors.


And we’ve spent a lot of money on a new NHS App, so that you can make your choice quickly and easily using your mobile phone.  If you can use one in your condition.  See you soon!



PS: Have you thought about going private?   Hungary and Turkey are both good, and very affordable for self-funders.



Picture credit: Wix AI




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