This Is Going To Hurt is very funny, but often in a horrific kind of way, as any book set in a hospital and dealing with life and death is going to be. There is a gallows humour here, but also compassion and kindness; though Kay is self-deprecating about his skills, I wouldn't mind having him in charge of my care. One constant theme is the poor pay and conditions under which health workers in the British NHS are expected to labour, a situation which was appallingly highlighted during the Covid pandemic which arrived long after Kay quit, and is no doubt echoed here in Australia, too. Petty restrictions such as removing a bed from the staff room, so the doctors are prevented from snatching a few minutes sleep, seem so heartless and cruel -- and yet the staff soldier on with their literally life-giving work. I know I'd rather have a doctor on duty who'd had a full night's sleep, instead of working back to back shifts so the system can prove some point about toughness. The book ends with a really tragic incident which was the catalyst for Kay leaving the profession, and it's a testament to him and his colleagues that these events are so mercifully rare.
And now I'll have to watch the show.
Myself, and almost everyone I know, loved this book. There's so much in it that makes me angry - in what other profession do you have to arrange your own cover when you're sick and then lose a day off later to pay the time back? And the constant expectation that you either be late for everything or miss important events because you will never, ever finish on time? Unfortunately the situation is even worse now than when Kay was working in the NHS, hence the current strikes. (The TV series is great too; it is slightly changed in that it has more of a connecting plot, and he makes himself a bit obnoxious, but many of the incidents from the book are still there.)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Ann, that's good to know -- I will definitely watch it. It was an enraging and often unbelievable read. It's hard to accept that we treat our caring professions so poorly and so short-sightedly.
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