“A couple of years ago, my son had to undergo surgery for a hernia. He was rolled into the operation room and I was waiting nervously outside.

“After some time, the surgeon poked his head out of the operation room and asked me, “Is the hernia on the right or on the left side?’”

“Surgical horror stories where patients receive the wrong operation or have the wrong limb removed are not just urban legends. Through MAP’s support, Palestine is set to become a pioneer of surgical safety best practice in the Middle East”. (from the Medical Aid to Palestinians website).

Right procedures for the wrong body or part of body are par for the course, not just in Palestine, but all over the world. The nasty truth, suppressed by doctors everywhere, is that hospital mistakes are common and very frequently fatal. In the last week we have been told that medical error is the second most common cause of death in hospitals. One can sympathize with doctors who are over-worked, tired, and having to concentrate intensely during procedures, especially those sensitive ones concerned, for instance, with the heart or brain. But some of the problem has to be sheer carelessness. Up there with straightforward mistakes and errors of judgment is the seeming inability of the medical profession to reduce hospital infections that kill and lead to readmissions.

All in all, I am personally hoping never to see the inside of a hospital ever again, and, if I am wheeled to one protesting, I now know to ask lots of questions, be a pain in the neck, refuse to be turfed out after 24 hours, be very dubious about pain killers and make sure the surgeon is going to operate on the right part of my anatomy. I advise everyone to emulate me.