In Stitches Quotes

“When you are surrounded by death and disease, aggressive and drunk patients, and nurses (male and female) trying constantly to flirt with you, it can make working in A&E an interesting and often stressful environment”
― Nick Edwards, In Stitches: The Highs and Lows of Life as an A&E Doctor

“Is it right that I am hoping patients have various ailments to make my job easier or more interesting? Surely the humanitarian side of me should want everyone I see to be pain-and illness-free? I don’t and I am worried I should, but at least I know my thoughts aren’t right …”
― Nick Edwards, In Stitches: The Highs and Lows of Life as an A&E Doctor

“So why on earth did a local epileptic support group on a summer weekend away organise a disco with strobe lighting? You couldn’t make it up.”
― Nick Edwards, In Stitches: The Highs and Lows of Life as an A&E Doctor

“(if we had to have a British queen on our money I would prefer Elton John or Brian from Big Brother).”
― Nick Edwards, In Stitches: The Highs and Lows of Life as an A&E Doctor

“Sometimes the most important skill in medicine is knowing when to let nature take its course and not interfere.”
― Nick Edwards, In Stitches: The Highs and Lows of Life as an A&E Doctor

“Blair, Tony – icon of revolutionary socialist ideology or Thatcher’s love-child who acts as a tree for George Bush’s poodle. You choose.”
― Nick Edwards, In Stitches: The Highs and Lows of Life as an A&E Doctor

“Anyway, in some cases the police don’t actively encourage it, but do turn a blind eye. For example, during the last World Cup the foreign police didn’t seem to mind our football fans smoking it, as it calmed them down and stopped them beating the shit out of the opposing supporters. Medically it is, I believe, much safer to go on a one-night bender getting stoned rather than a drinking binge. I would also feel much safer walking past a group of stoned teenagers than a group of drunken ones.”
― Nick Edwards, In Stitches: The Highs and Lows of Life as an A&E Doctor

“It is hard to not be infuriated with them, especially when it is very busy, knowing that they caused their own problem. It is also hard to understand how someone could inflict so much pain and damage on themselves. However, they too need our attention and to dismiss them as time wasters is unfair.”
― Nick Edwards, In Stitches: The Highs and Lows of Life as an A&E Doctor

“50-year-old man: ‘Doctor, I went to bed and woke up and felt scared and so called an ambulance.’ He was having a nightmare. Now, I am not annoyed with him, just the lack of mental health support in the community, which can look after patients with his type of condition.”
― Nick Edwards, In Stitches: The Highs and Lows of Life as an A&E Doctor

“What it seems to me is that neither party can be trusted to run the NHS.”
― Nick Edwards, In Stitches: The Highs and Lows of Life as an A&E Doctor

“She spent the last few hours of her life held tightly by her husband, listening to him telling her how much he loved her and recounting all the good times they had in the past. It was a sad but beautiful sight that I felt privileged to witness. Emergency medicine is not just about the high drama of trying to save someone’s life. Sometimes the most important skill in medicine is knowing when to let nature take its course and not interfere. It was sad to see, but also the right thing to have allowed to happen.”
― Nick Edwards, In Stitches: The Highs and Lows of Life as an A&E Doctor

“Anaesthetists – put people to sleep for surgery, usually by drugs but sometimes by conversation. Very useful when we have very sick patients as they can put in central lines (large intravenous lines through which fluids, blood and drugs can be given quickly) and take over their breathing when patients are struggling. More and more A&E doctors are learning these skills too. So, in the future, we may have to call for these doctors’ help less and less. They can therefore spend more time concentrating on their specialist subjects – sudoku and crosswords at the local independent treatment centre.”
― Nick Edwards, In Stitches: The Highs and Lows of Life as an A&E Doctor