Angels On The Night Shift
By Robert D Lesslie
Harvest House, October 1st, 2012
I generally enjoy non-fiction books about the lives of
medical professionals, but this book,
which is part of a series, is very much
in a league of its own. It drew me
in - and had me hooked - on the very
first page, to my delight.
The book opens in the ER, with the arrival of a patient with
chest pain, and soon we are drawn into a mystery – why were empty vials of the
drug Vistaril in the room when they should not have been? In the rush to deal with this patient’s
critical medical condition, the issue of the drug is temporarily overlooked and
life in the busy department continues. The medical problems of the patients are dealt
with in fascinating detail in clear, plain English, easily accessible and
understandable to the lay reader. How
diagnoses are arrived at is rather like the deductive processes in a detective
novel, and it is quite fascinating to see how this works, and how it can run
into problems. Birth, death, accidents and the diagnosis of life-changing and
life-threatening diseases are common occurrences in a busy hospital, and all
affect the lives of the patients and their families, who often need as much
care and support as the patients themselves.
Dr Lesslie, a doctor with thirty years of ER experience, introduces the team of medics , nurses and technicians
who staff his close-knit and well-run department; the staff
function well as a team, appreciate their individual and collective
strengths, look out for each other and know they can rely on each other, but
gradually the feel of the ER department changes. When a member of staff makes uncharacteristic
mistakes and things start to go wrong , blame is unfairly apportioned by senior
management and soon everyone is on edge
and unhappy. Will the truth be unearthed,
or will there be a massive miscarriage of justice, with a dangerous person on
the loose in the department, posing a danger to patients and staff alike…….
The pressures and stresses the staff face every day are clearly portrayed as is the
deep Christian faith of many of them which underpins their strength, as is also
true of many of the patients and their families.
Fast-paced, fascinating, well-written and absorbing, giving
us glimpses of heartbreak, tragedy and stress , I thoroughly enjoyed this and will be certainly looking out for any
other books written by this medical author.
1 comment:
I like it it is a great read
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