Younger people may not realise this but up until the 1970's some hospital doctors in Ireland, were incredibly arrogant and aloof and enjoyed an almost Godlike status in the hospitals they worked for. As a medical student in Dublin at the time, I was able to witness this at first-hand.
What this meant for the consumer, the patient was that their hospital doctor could not easily be questioned or asked to explain when not fully understood. Not all hospital doctors of the day availed of this supernatural status of course but for those inadequate enough to do so, it was there to be used. I have just finished a novel based on a classical case of medical negligence that this system allowed for. It is called The Foxhunter and deals with a case of a Persistent vegetative state brought about by a few hospital doctors acting like gods. It was to lead eventually to Ireland's signature case of A Right to Die 1995.
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