Page 20 of Prognosis Do Over

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A knock interruptedLou after lunch, and she welcomed it gratefully. She’d been getting nowhere with her work. The policy review she wanted to finish before going on maternity leave sat untouched in front of her. All she could think about was how good it had been, hanging with Will and Candy on the weekend.

‘Lou — sorry to interrupt, but can you come here, please? Lydia’s on a tea break, and the bloody doctor won’t listen to me.’

Lou jumped up from her desk immediately at the tone of Kristy’s voice and her obvious annoyance. She might be only new to the job, but she had the makings of an excellent nurse and Lou trusted her judgement.

‘What’s wrong?’ she asked, hurrying after Kristy.

‘It’s that Dr Billham — Brian. Thinks he’s God’s gift to the medical fraternity. He’s had two goes to get Erica’s IV back in, and he’s trying for a third. I told him it was enough, but he’s doing it anyway.’

‘What happened to the other one?’ asked Lou as she followed Kristy to the treatment room, where all IVs were inserted.

‘It tissued,’ the nurse said. ‘I paged him to come and put another one in. I think I interrupted his lunch.’

‘Oh, what a pity.’ Lou frowned. ‘It only had to hold out for another day.’

Lou could hear baby Erica screaming from halfway down the corridor — and so could her mother, who was bawling her eyes out by Erica’s bed on the ward. Lou felt her ire rising.

‘It’s all right, Mrs Jessop,’ Lou said reassuringly, stopping momentarily to calm the distressed mother. ‘The doctor’s obviously having a bit of trouble getting the new IV in. We’ll give Erica a breather for a little while. You wait here, and I’ll bring her out to you in a moment.’

Lou squeezed the mother’s shoulder, and she and Kristy continued on their way. They reached the treatment room, and burst through the door in time to witness Brian take another jab.

‘Hold still, kid,’ he said, an edge of frustration tainting his voice.

‘Excuse me,’ Lou said firmly, walking over to the baby, pushing the doctor’s poised hand aside, snapping off the tourniquet that was clamped to Erica’s little arm and picking her up off the bed. The little girl was red in the face and hiccoughing she was so upset.

‘I nearly had it,’ Brian protested.

Lou bounced Erica as she shot a look of pure disdain the doctor’s way. Brian Billham wasn’t much taller than Lou, and quite weedy-looking, with a thin, snarly mouth. Lou hadn’t though much of him on rounds, and she’d certainly seen nothing here to change her mind.

She turned to Kristy. ‘Go and page Will, please,’ she said pleasantly.

‘I can manage,’ said Brian.

Ugh. Moron. Lou took a while to soothe Erica. She was not going to have this conversation over a screaming child. Finally, the child’s cries settled to a heart-wrenching hiccup.

‘Do you see that sign up there?’ Lou asked, indicating the handwritten, laminated card stuck to the front of the IV supplies cupboard. ‘Two strikes and you’re out,’ she read. ‘Do you think that doesn’t apply to you, Doctor?’

‘Kids have difficult veins. Sometimes it takes more than two goes,’ he said sulkily.

‘Indeed it does,’ Lou agreed. ‘And that’s when you take a break and try again in a couple of hours’ time. All you’ve succeeding in doing is making her and her mother hysterical, and yourself so angry you were never going to get that drip in.’

The door opened, and Will, Kristy and Lydia entered the fray. ‘Everything okay here?’ he asked.

He looked from his resident to Lou and back again. Brian was clearly fuming. Lou looked calmer, but he knew her well enough to know a calm Lou could be lethal. He pitied Brian, he really did. Lou took her job as advocate very seriously.

‘Your resident seems to have problems reading signs,’ Lou said, clutching Erica to her.

‘I was trying to insert an IV,’ Brian said, ignoring Lou, looking at his boss for support.

‘Oh, dear.’ Will whistled. ‘You didn’t break the two strikes rule, did you?’

‘The kid has difficult veins,’ Brian said defiantly.

‘Did you have some local anaesthetic cream on?’ Will enquired.

‘Yes,’ Kristy piped in. ‘But he hadn’t given it long enough to work.’

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