ABSTRACT
'Hello doctor, you're late; Dexter Veriform said, squirming in his hospital bed. 'I need more of your magic bullets for the pain. As with home visits, there's a certain expectation on both sides that the doctor will arrive expeditiously. Being unreasonably late, in addition to the obvious consequences, can show disrespect or lack of earing. Being too early catches people unawares. Some doctors may prefer this, but I like to give my patients the time they need to secure their psychic armour, patients like Nicky Doulton-Brown's Mrs Dymphna O'Reilly, who insisted on the doctor visiting at 8 a.m. each Tuesday. It gave form to her week and a sense of control in an increasingly powerless existence. Once I received a gift from a grateful family member after a callout to which I was unconscionably late, through no fault of my own.'
