ABSTRACT
Source: Morley, D (ed.). The Gift. New writing for the NHS. Exeter: Stride Publications, 2002. Reproduced by permission.
Whenever I think of a hospital I always think of it as a woman. Those sweetheart impulses governing the place are why I work here and why I never want to work anywhere else. Institutions shackle the imagination and make a stone of the heart, but this one is inspirational. It has made my luck. It’s also been my longest relationship, the one anatomy I’ve remained faithful to, along with the women who manage my schedule: like Mavis, the control clerk who just now informs me that Patient Jackson in Cardio is awaiting a ride to Surgery One.
