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Babylon Confessions #7
Hospital Babylon
Hospital Babylon is an in-depth, amusing and highly insightful expose of the extraordinary world of modern medicine. It will take the reader on a journey through the various departments and wards where babies are made, thighs are reduced, noses straightened and spare kidneys are flown in from the Indian subcontinent.
We will meet doctors who sleep with nurses. Doctors who sleep with patients. Doctors who fiddle their insurance forms. Doctors who suck fat, pump up breasts, plump lips and lengthen penises. The doctor who specialises in flatulence. The doctor who shoots up before he operates. Doctor Feelgood who will give you anything and everything you need. As well as the doctor who makes a fortune doing buttock enlargements in the Caribbean. En route, we will discover what touches them, what amuses them and quite how obsessively insane you have to be to make it to the top.
Why does a private room cost over £1000 a night? Who are the people changing your bedpan? Holding your hand as you go to sleep? What do they do to you while you’re out cold? Why are drugs so expensive? How easy is it for the pharmaceutical companies to grease the good doctor’s palm? Who exactly is profiting from your illness, embarrassing affliction or brand new nose? And, of course, what happens when it all goes wrong?
Packed with true stories, anecdotes and revelations, Hospital Babylon is a riveting, entertaining and shocking look at 24 hours in the life of a British hospital. Both amusing and appalling, it will make you question whether you should sign that consent form after all…
We will meet doctors who sleep with nurses. Doctors who sleep with patients. Doctors who fiddle their insurance forms. Doctors who suck fat, pump up breasts, plump lips and lengthen penises. The doctor who specialises in flatulence. The doctor who shoots up before he operates. Doctor Feelgood who will give you anything and everything you need. As well as the doctor who makes a fortune doing buttock enlargements in the Caribbean. En route, we will discover what touches them, what amuses them and quite how obsessively insane you have to be to make it to the top.
Why does a private room cost over £1000 a night? Who are the people changing your bedpan? Holding your hand as you go to sleep? What do they do to you while you’re out cold? Why are drugs so expensive? How easy is it for the pharmaceutical companies to grease the good doctor’s palm? Who exactly is profiting from your illness, embarrassing affliction or brand new nose? And, of course, what happens when it all goes wrong?
Packed with true stories, anecdotes and revelations, Hospital Babylon is a riveting, entertaining and shocking look at 24 hours in the life of a British hospital. Both amusing and appalling, it will make you question whether you should sign that consent form after all…
320 pages, Hardcover
First published April 1, 2011
14 people are currently reading
417 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews
May 29, 2011
I made the mistake of reading this while I was on call. And yes, I do work in a hospital. While my experience of working 24/7 was not quite as bad as the unnamed doctor, there are a lot of things that ring true in this book. Written in conjunction with numerous hospital staff, this book tells the story of a truly horrible 24 hours in the Emergency Department. While all of these things do happen, hopefully they don’t happen in a single (double) shift.
This book is incredibly funny and yet incredibly sad. From the propofol and sux (suxamethonium, both anaesthetics) races – wrong, but oh so funny to the nurses hiding the chocolates, this will have you laughing and crying. People really do take up residence in the ED waiting room, the place usually has several drunks sleeping it off and others do shoot up just outside. There are also the traumas that just cannot be saved and the unexpected deaths when it all looked so medically simple.
The book also catches the feelings of the staff – from feeling useless at a trauma, exhilaration after a successful resuscitation and annoyance at the abuse of the system as well as the ‘four hour rule’ (i.e. in and out of ED in four hours or less, it’s the source of a lot of talk currently in Australia). I don’t know if some of the sexual things go down but the tiredness and the snaffling of food, any food is all real.
This is a great look at what goes on in the ED from the doctor’s perspective – it is moving and funny. The procedures are explained simply (and correctly, one of my issues with some fiction books) and it’s a light, quick read.
This book is incredibly funny and yet incredibly sad. From the propofol and sux (suxamethonium, both anaesthetics) races – wrong, but oh so funny to the nurses hiding the chocolates, this will have you laughing and crying. People really do take up residence in the ED waiting room, the place usually has several drunks sleeping it off and others do shoot up just outside. There are also the traumas that just cannot be saved and the unexpected deaths when it all looked so medically simple.
The book also catches the feelings of the staff – from feeling useless at a trauma, exhilaration after a successful resuscitation and annoyance at the abuse of the system as well as the ‘four hour rule’ (i.e. in and out of ED in four hours or less, it’s the source of a lot of talk currently in Australia). I don’t know if some of the sexual things go down but the tiredness and the snaffling of food, any food is all real.
This is a great look at what goes on in the ED from the doctor’s perspective – it is moving and funny. The procedures are explained simply (and correctly, one of my issues with some fiction books) and it’s a light, quick read.
March 17, 2024
Unfortunately I only have to give it three stars because this book wasn't funny for me. I couldnt laugh, and sometimes I felt disgusted. I'm terrified of hospitals and faint at the sight of blood, so I avoid them, but I wanted to read another book in the Babylon series, so I did it. You can read this book, but there are better ones in the Babylon series
October 15, 2013
Having worked in a hospital for the best part of a decade now, even though I’m not frontline (I’m one of the assholes in offices instead, running the organisation’s websites and such), I’ve heard many stories over the years that would make your toes curl, your hair stand on end and your stomach contents rapidly leave your body. I can’t share any of those stories with you, what with confidentiality laws and the high probability of losing my job if I did, but I can recommend that you read this book if you’ve ever been at all curious as to what really goes on in a hospital.
Taking anonymous anecdotes from healthcare professionals around the country and squeezing them into a narrative of the ‘typical’ (double) shift in an A&E, the format is a little clumsy at times as people stand around having awkward conversations in order to shoe-horn in another anecdote, but not enough to detract from just how interesting, shocking, sad or funny those anecdotes are.
Running through, amongst many other things, the self-medication of doctors and the addicts dying in toilet cubicles, the RTA’s and the twats calling ambulances for hangovers (although I’ve heard of much, much more appalling abuse of ambulances than this), looking at the strain placed on NHS resources by our growing obesity and alcohol-related problems (wanna feel faint? Look up how much a bariatric ambulance costs, and what weights they need to be able to carry) while big pharma jacks up the prices of commonly used drugs, as well as how you should never, ever leave food you want to see again in a staff fridge, some of the things shared will make you cackle, while others will make you despair a little for the human race.
A read that entertains as much as it informs, it’s also quick enough to be finished before your wait in A&E is over.
Taking anonymous anecdotes from healthcare professionals around the country and squeezing them into a narrative of the ‘typical’ (double) shift in an A&E, the format is a little clumsy at times as people stand around having awkward conversations in order to shoe-horn in another anecdote, but not enough to detract from just how interesting, shocking, sad or funny those anecdotes are.
Running through, amongst many other things, the self-medication of doctors and the addicts dying in toilet cubicles, the RTA’s and the twats calling ambulances for hangovers (although I’ve heard of much, much more appalling abuse of ambulances than this), looking at the strain placed on NHS resources by our growing obesity and alcohol-related problems (wanna feel faint? Look up how much a bariatric ambulance costs, and what weights they need to be able to carry) while big pharma jacks up the prices of commonly used drugs, as well as how you should never, ever leave food you want to see again in a staff fridge, some of the things shared will make you cackle, while others will make you despair a little for the human race.
A read that entertains as much as it informs, it’s also quick enough to be finished before your wait in A&E is over.
March 9, 2022
First read this nearly 10 years ago and thought it was a hilarious take on A&E.
I've long since watched Jed Mercurio's Bodies & nearly finished all seasons of E&R, and worked closely with the NHS, healthcare practitioners, and private sector Pharma. Funny how so many things have changed in the sector, yet so many things are still the same.
Still amusing, still a tongue-in-cheek parody, still quite relevant.
I've long since watched Jed Mercurio's Bodies & nearly finished all seasons of E&R, and worked closely with the NHS, healthcare practitioners, and private sector Pharma. Funny how so many things have changed in the sector, yet so many things are still the same.
Still amusing, still a tongue-in-cheek parody, still quite relevant.
January 29, 2017
Usmialam sie do lez, aczkolwiek jezeli choc czesc z tego jest prawda to moja stopa w publicznym szpitalu juz nigdy nie stanie ;)
August 26, 2013
Hospital Babylon is the fourth book of Imogen Edwards-Jones' eight "Babylon" books that I have read in the past few years. Offering an insight into the world of situations and occupations that are glamorous and yet often ridiculed, these are pretty light reads, with input from anonymous insiders.
Probably the most famous of these books is Hotel Babylon, upon which a television series in the UK was based a few years ago. Hotel Babylon is also the first of the books I read (after seeing the TV series), followed by Beach Babylon (the story of a glamorous resort) and Air Babylon (the adventures of an airline steward which really freaked me out when it discussed what happens when people die on planes).
Hospital Babylon is the last of the "Babylon" books I will probably read, although I'm tempted by Restaurant Babylon that was only released a couple of weeks ago, and that's because it's the last one that I find particularly interesting. I'm always drawn to non-fiction books set in hospitals, as after working in one for more than three years (my favourite job ever), what I saw was enough to make your toes curl, let alone what the medical staff endure.
Based on twenty-four hours in a UK emergency room, seen through the eyes of one of the doctors in training, Hospital Babylon is both a look behind the scenes and at the front line of emergency medicine. Funny, sad, shocking and frustrating, the stories of the patients, doctors, nurses and other medical staff kept me turning the pages, and in between was an intimate look at the NHS itself, and the impact that standards of care, staffing requirements and middle management have had on changing how an emergency room in the UK operates - with some pretty frightening results.
However, unlike other non-fiction medical memoirs I've read in recent years, the main character resists the opportunity to really take a pop at the National Health Service - instead he highlights the impact of the changes, rather than railing against them, and how patients and their outcomes are ultimately affected - either for better or worse.
At times this book is very funny - some of the situations that people find themselves in would be hilarious to anyone except the person in the midst of it, and at other times it's very sad - how quickly someone who appears to have only a minor medical problem can deteriorate, how the staff are pushed to the edges of physical and mental limits and how they actually are real people too - something that is easy to forget when you are waiting for medical attention.
Hospital Babylon is probably the least funny of the "Babylon" books that I've read, but probably the one that I enjoyed the most. To be honest, the writing isn't mind blowing, but the insight with which the story of one emergency room, on one night, was told was enough to keep me entertained.
Probably the most famous of these books is Hotel Babylon, upon which a television series in the UK was based a few years ago. Hotel Babylon is also the first of the books I read (after seeing the TV series), followed by Beach Babylon (the story of a glamorous resort) and Air Babylon (the adventures of an airline steward which really freaked me out when it discussed what happens when people die on planes).
Hospital Babylon is the last of the "Babylon" books I will probably read, although I'm tempted by Restaurant Babylon that was only released a couple of weeks ago, and that's because it's the last one that I find particularly interesting. I'm always drawn to non-fiction books set in hospitals, as after working in one for more than three years (my favourite job ever), what I saw was enough to make your toes curl, let alone what the medical staff endure.
Based on twenty-four hours in a UK emergency room, seen through the eyes of one of the doctors in training, Hospital Babylon is both a look behind the scenes and at the front line of emergency medicine. Funny, sad, shocking and frustrating, the stories of the patients, doctors, nurses and other medical staff kept me turning the pages, and in between was an intimate look at the NHS itself, and the impact that standards of care, staffing requirements and middle management have had on changing how an emergency room in the UK operates - with some pretty frightening results.
However, unlike other non-fiction medical memoirs I've read in recent years, the main character resists the opportunity to really take a pop at the National Health Service - instead he highlights the impact of the changes, rather than railing against them, and how patients and their outcomes are ultimately affected - either for better or worse.
At times this book is very funny - some of the situations that people find themselves in would be hilarious to anyone except the person in the midst of it, and at other times it's very sad - how quickly someone who appears to have only a minor medical problem can deteriorate, how the staff are pushed to the edges of physical and mental limits and how they actually are real people too - something that is easy to forget when you are waiting for medical attention.
Hospital Babylon is probably the least funny of the "Babylon" books that I've read, but probably the one that I enjoyed the most. To be honest, the writing isn't mind blowing, but the insight with which the story of one emergency room, on one night, was told was enough to keep me entertained.
October 1, 2013
I devoured this book entirely and loved every frigging minute of it. It's hilarious and educational, both politically and as an eye opener for those who work outside clinical care. As an NHS worker I laughed out loud at bits that I have often wanted others to understand, such as 'I deserve an ambulance for a hangover' when they cost £800 a call. I won't list the anecdotes as I wouldn't want to spoil this for others, but it truly is a great read for a bit of a giggle and a breath of fresh air. The book also has some serious undercurrents, which makes reading it feel less trashy and more like an evening in with a great panorama special. Give it a go, especially if you've enjoyed the other Babylon books.
July 31, 2018
https://chyneyee.com/2016/02/27/hospi...
I've learned a lot from this book such as hospital management, and medical terms especially drug names. There was a huge number of unknown inside stories and a lot of unexpected incidents, many of which are beyond our imagination that will happen in real life. I will never expect someone with a big hole behind his head still can survive and live in a normal life. I quite liked most of the stories in this book and there were numerous stories which are shocking but interesting. Despite the narration of the story should be told in a serious manner, but most of the hospital staff mentioned in the book are amusing.
I've learned a lot from this book such as hospital management, and medical terms especially drug names. There was a huge number of unknown inside stories and a lot of unexpected incidents, many of which are beyond our imagination that will happen in real life. I will never expect someone with a big hole behind his head still can survive and live in a normal life. I quite liked most of the stories in this book and there were numerous stories which are shocking but interesting. Despite the narration of the story should be told in a serious manner, but most of the hospital staff mentioned in the book are amusing.
August 22, 2024
Od razu uprzedzam, że to lektura nie dla każdego. Trzeba być dość odpornym, żeby przez to przebrnąć. Ja akurat pracowałam kiedyś w polskim szpitalu, teraz pracuję w angielskim. Na pewne rzeczy patrzy się inaczej, kiedy widzi się je od drugiej strony.
Autorem jest wiele osób, związanych z brytyjską służbą zdrowia, choć w Polsce sytuacja niewiele się różni. Historie przez nich opowiedziane są prawdziwe. Zostały umiejscowione w fikcyjnym szpitalu, na oddziale SOR. Akcja dzieje się w ciągu 24-godzinnego ostrego dyżuru lekarza SOR-u, postaci również fikcyjnej. W bardzo sprytny sposób zostały tu wplecione opowieści naprawdę mrożące krew w żyłach, śmieszne, tragiczne, smutne i zaskakujące... Obserwujemy, jak na oddziale kolejno pojawiają się różni pacjenci. W międzyczasie poznajemy kilka osób z personelu, ich prywatne życie oraz wzajemne relacje. Oj, bywa gorąco. Do tego trochę ogólnych wiadomości o leczeniu i lekarzach w Anglii, specjalistach i ich zarobkach, lecznictwie państwowym i prywatnym, prestiżu i problemach pracy lekarzy.
"Już nigdy z taką ufnością nie przekroczysz progu szpitalnych drzwi" To jakby podtytuł na okładce książki. Doskonale oddaje jej treść. Polecam, choć nie osobom wrażliwym.
Autorem jest wiele osób, związanych z brytyjską służbą zdrowia, choć w Polsce sytuacja niewiele się różni. Historie przez nich opowiedziane są prawdziwe. Zostały umiejscowione w fikcyjnym szpitalu, na oddziale SOR. Akcja dzieje się w ciągu 24-godzinnego ostrego dyżuru lekarza SOR-u, postaci również fikcyjnej. W bardzo sprytny sposób zostały tu wplecione opowieści naprawdę mrożące krew w żyłach, śmieszne, tragiczne, smutne i zaskakujące... Obserwujemy, jak na oddziale kolejno pojawiają się różni pacjenci. W międzyczasie poznajemy kilka osób z personelu, ich prywatne życie oraz wzajemne relacje. Oj, bywa gorąco. Do tego trochę ogólnych wiadomości o leczeniu i lekarzach w Anglii, specjalistach i ich zarobkach, lecznictwie państwowym i prywatnym, prestiżu i problemach pracy lekarzy.
"Już nigdy z taką ufnością nie przekroczysz progu szpitalnych drzwi" To jakby podtytuł na okładce książki. Doskonale oddaje jej treść. Polecam, choć nie osobom wrażliwym.
November 28, 2025
These Babylon books are really entertaining, interesting and a good old easy to read romp. This one though is showing its age. While the medical elements remain interesting, the level of unprofessional to criminal behaviour is more shocking than when I read this back in the early 2010s. The social attitudes are also out of kilter with modern times. The NHS has moved on a lot in this time too so it probably no longer gives an accurate representation (if it ever did). A lot of the stories that she has expertly gathered will also have dated back many decades before the 2010s giving this a bit of an old school, “did he just say/do that??”feel at times.
October 15, 2019
I enjoyed the stories about the a&e and found it very interesting and a little bit sad in places. What I wasn’t so impressed with that like hotel Babylon it had a male narrative and the author made it over sleazy. There was no need to describe every women on the size of their tits and how pretty they were. It cheapened the whole book and as this was written a few years after the hotel Babylon you’d have thought it would have a different tone at least but it just sounded like the same bloke in a different job.
June 13, 2018
I have worked in the hospital so I kinda knew quite a few of these insider secrets, so yes everything is true and there are a lot of things not mentioned in here which are just as unbelievable. Most of these things never become known to the general public since most of it falls under patient confidentiality. Therefore it is definitly a book to read if you'd like a little inside in what is actually going on inside a hospital.
August 22, 2017
It was a light read and entertaining. The were some insights into the NHS and the staff, but I suspect its sensationalized. I'm a medical doctor and some of it brought back memories of my years in training, it certainly was not as glamorous as depicted on tv shows.
August 27, 2017
Inaccurate
There were several details that were not medically correct such as shocking someone with a defib when in asystole that grated. Many other medical details were wrong
There were several details that were not medically correct such as shocking someone with a defib when in asystole that grated. Many other medical details were wrong
March 19, 2018
Great book! Read my progress update for a more thorough review. Really joyed the hospital stories.
May 29, 2018
Easy read, stories weren’t as crazy as I thought they’d be.
September 21, 2018
Have enjoyed all of these books......this one is no different.
August 25, 2019
It kind of funny real stories
May 30, 2020
I only read 2/3rds. I tired of the characters, none of them likeable in the slightest, and utterly disdainful of their patients. I sincerely hope it was as fabricated as it seemed.
October 29, 2020
The stories were interesting, but putting it all in 24 hours also leaves less possibilities for multiple-day story arcs.
December 15, 2020
A re-read. Always terrific
May 5, 2025
Jedan dan u bolnici sa doktorom, kone je ovo poslednji radni dan u ovoj ustanovi. Zabavno, poučno, strana zdravstva, koju ne viđaju obični smrtnici. Preporuka, kako drugačije.
August 25, 2014
What's it like to work in a hospital - in Emergency, in particular? Yep, as bad as you would imagine. Possibly worse. I have been in Emergency once as a patient and twice as a concerned next of kin. The chaos, the delays, the crazies - it was all there each and every time. So, I seriously doubt (though I wish) the author was making this shit up. She has just condensed it. And it doesn't matter that this is set in England. I doubt any other 1st world hospitals are any better. And I shudder to think what goes on in the hospitals of poorer countries.
Reading this book was a lot like being a bystander to a car crash site. Kinda morbid and hideous, but you just can't help but looking. And finishing this book is a bit like walking away from such a scene - relief that you can observe but not be involved.
Reading this book was a lot like being a bystander to a car crash site. Kinda morbid and hideous, but you just can't help but looking. And finishing this book is a bit like walking away from such a scene - relief that you can observe but not be involved.
July 9, 2011
Despite their popularity I haven't read any of the others in the series. The subjects just didn't appeal to me as much and there were just some things I would rather not know.
While this book did reveal some shocking instances within the NHS (doctors on Coke for one) it didn't particularly shock me too much. Mostly it reminded me of Tom Reynolds "Blood, Sweat + Tea" (which I highly recommend). It had some tales of funny patients, patients that will disgust you and some sad moments. The whole point was to put forward a realistic view of A&E rather than exposing it for all it's faults.
Over all it was an entertaining read. Whilst I did enjoy it I am still not particularly interested in reading others in the series.
While this book did reveal some shocking instances within the NHS (doctors on Coke for one) it didn't particularly shock me too much. Mostly it reminded me of Tom Reynolds "Blood, Sweat + Tea" (which I highly recommend). It had some tales of funny patients, patients that will disgust you and some sad moments. The whole point was to put forward a realistic view of A&E rather than exposing it for all it's faults.
Over all it was an entertaining read. Whilst I did enjoy it I am still not particularly interested in reading others in the series.
Read
May 15, 2011I wouldnt very much wanted to rate this book. It's just for light reading at first, not expecting the heavy and mix feeling of the rush and chaos of the A&E department. 4-5 stars? =)
I love the way the chapter moves from one to another. Like clock moving from hour to hour. That's doctors life. Running with the time. Trying to save every single patient presented to them. It's very medical this book, and its story, but understand that its aim more for the non-medical people.
Its a good read though; down the medical line. Cut out the very heavy westernized culture in this book, there you got a very nice medical story that close resembling the Malaysian medical scenario.
I love the way the chapter moves from one to another. Like clock moving from hour to hour. That's doctors life. Running with the time. Trying to save every single patient presented to them. It's very medical this book, and its story, but understand that its aim more for the non-medical people.
Its a good read though; down the medical line. Cut out the very heavy westernized culture in this book, there you got a very nice medical story that close resembling the Malaysian medical scenario.
August 15, 2012
A very funny and interesting, albeit somewhat worrying glimpse behind the scenes with the people we trust our lives to. I don't know whether to be heartened or worried...!! Every work place has its skeletons, and the NHS and hospitals are no different I guess....I am convinced now that you certainly have to have a sense of humour to work in an A&E department as well as the rest of a hospital....and your life is forever changed by your experiences. Like the rest of the Babylon books, this one does not disappoint and you have to be ready to take the humour with the reality and the sadness...I loved it...!!
August 26, 2012
I picked this out as one of my traditional airport books to drag along in my suitcase! I finished it in no time. Great to fill up time or when you are sun bathing or taking a break in a park on your city trip or even when you wake up in the middle of the night and need something to kill time. Will make you smile, giggle, sometimes wonder and many more. A nice collection of stories about a place where many mortals don't wish to hang around too long. Also waving together of the various stories I do think is nicely done.
March 15, 2014
lepas habis exam,kelembapan membaca sebutir novel ibarat kelajuan siput babi melintasi pasu bunga.nyata,stress nak exam membuatkan aku ingin lari dari realiti masuk ke dalam dunia penulis.cehh kemain ayat.btw,reading this book was like you're watching grey's anatomy drama but A&E dep version.totally brilliant and hillarious but deeply moving indeed hahaha.tak tau la ER kat mesia camne,but time buat attachement tu ade doc tu pernah warning pasal teens partying with drugs or booze overdose datang ER malam2.peak hour 1-3 am.peh semoga masyarakat di negara aku menjadi lebih baik di masa hadapan.
March 23, 2014
Yes it follows the same formular as the rest, with someone about to start work with a stonking hangover and it's about to be the worst shift ever. Although the chances of encountering a shift like this is probably slim, I can quite believe that some of these cases do crop from time to time. Some of them are amusing and makes you wonder why people put them selves in these sorts do positions, some are terribly sad and a fact of hospital life I'm sure. As always though a quick read that gives you an insight into what life in the industry is like.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews