It has been my privilege to try to help thousands of patients since becoming a doctor in 1963. Many are memorable for variety of reasons, some good and a few better forgotten. The royal and famous bring interesting challenges, and I take the liberty of recounting some, albeit anonymously.
I shall start with a call from Buckingham palace. I was asked/instructed to consult on a royal princess, who was hospitalized with stomach problems at the famous exclusive King Edward 7th Hospital in London.
It used to be called “for officers and gentlemen” but that monicker seems to have been dropped. I was reminded of that recently in a TV program that showed Harold MacMillian signing his resignation as Prime Minister in the hospital boardroom, recovering from prostate surgery. Incidentally there is I think only one hospital named after the 8th King Edward , since he lasted less than a year before abdicating. It is in Durban, South Africa and catered largely for the non-white population. I visited it many years ago at the invitation of a special young gastroenterologist, Mike Moshal, who was keen to learn more about the new endoscopy procedures. Sadly, he was struck down with leukemia soon afterwards.
Back to London. I was escorted to the royal bedside by the royal physician, and proceeded, as usual, to sit down on the bed, to hold the patient’s hand and started to ask questions. There was a loud hiss of concern/disapproval from behind me. Clearly it was not correct to sit on the royal bed, let alone hold the royal hand. However we seemed to get on well, and she kindly introduced me to the family, in a line of photos on the bedside table. All were dogs, one of which was pregnant. I was glad to accept the offer of a royal puppy, knowing that it would certanly not be proper to furnish a bill for the consultation.
The consultation resulted in the need to transfer the patient to the Middlesex Hospital for a procedure (my GI friends may guess what procedure and what for). Both the transfer and the procedure stressed my composure, and challenged our protocols and staff, but happily were successful eventually. The princess was effusive in gratitude, and the royal physician was mollified, even complementary, but I am still waiting for the puppy.