Hospital Babylon
by Imogen-Edwards-Jones & Anonymous
Bantam Press (e-book)

The appeal of the Babylon series is understandable: readers are given behind-the-scenes snapshots of businesses, such as the airline or wedding industries, whose modus operandi is often murky. But in the case of Hospital Babylon Imogen Edwards-Jones has chosen a line of work already exposed by the likes of US television series ER and Grey's Anatomy, so her anecdotes have that 'been there, done that' feel. Along with descriptions of the consequences of excessive alcohol and drug intake, there is the embarrassment of sex play gone wrong: anyone thinking of introducing a spanner to their bedroom should reconsider. There are revelations of doctors sleeping with nurses, although apparently there are 'not so many doctors-and-nurses games any more', in Britain at least, because 'Nigerian and Filipina nurses tend not to put out that much'. Edwards-Jones has turned her interviews with medical personnel into 24 hours in Accident & Emergency at a fictionalised hospital. It would have had more impact if real names had been used.

Extras: none