Free Postcards to America by Patrick Ingle Page A

if the vehicle had been involved in an accident or broken down, the vehicle was entering the port area.
    The brother stopped just outside the customs area and transferred the vehicle to a businessman with impeccable credentials on both sides of the sea. This businessman would drive the car to its final destination in the Middle East.
    Ryan’s Motor’s Ltd. could not instantly dismiss Gordon Bailey even though company rules were broken. Years before, unknown to the management, Gordon secretly joined a trade union as insurance against such an eventuality. However, the company made life so unpleasant for him that in the end he accepted a negotiated payment and left.
    Several weeks later the Byrnes brothers received payment and celebrated in style in an out of town restaurant away from prying eyes.

Chapter 8

Dr. Henry Hogan
    Dr. Hogan picked up the chicken leg and bit into the flesh. It tasted good. He took another bite and washed the food down with sparkling water. Reaching for the salt shaker, he spread salt over the remainder of the meat.
    Five hours of his shift gone already. Where did the time go?
    Catherine, his new “friend” and part-time lover, sat opposite him and munched a salad sandwich. Catherine, a first year student and the most direct person he had ever met, hadn’t even hinted that she fancied him. She merely sat opposite him one day in the canteen and simply told him outright. And how could he resist those hazel eyes and figure that seemed to fill out the uniform in all the right places.
    ‘It’s going to be another busy day?’ Hazel Eyes already knew the answer before she asked the question.
    Henry’s mouthful of chicken prevented him speaking so he nodded his head in affirmation.
    ‘Don’t tire yourself out. We have a date tonight, remember. Take some sugar. It will give you energy.’ She laughed as she spoke. ‘Otherwise I will have to give you some other medicine to boost your performance.’
    The day was typical. A waiting room full of people that never seemed to empty no matter how hard the staff worked. Children with cuts and bruises and broken limbs, elderly patients with breathing difficulties, foreigners from Asian countries with stomach pains and no translators, winos coming down and drug addicts going up.
    The admittance procedure was simple. Each new patient presented himself or herself at the reception area upon arrival. A receptionist then took the person’s name, address and complaint. The patient then received a ticket bearing a number that placed them in a queue and they waited in the waiting room. When their turn came to be treated the patient proceeded to the casualty area proper where they were examined. That was the theory. In practice, theory and reality collided.
    If an emergency occurred or if a person arrived in critical condition, they naturally jumped to the top of the queue, which led to long delays for the rest of the patients.
    The problem could be traced to government policy. Smaller hospitals were closed and resources transferred to large regional hospitals. While “the big is great concept” could be applied to retail stores, many were of the opinion that this concept as applied to hospitals was seriously flawed. Critics pointed to road congestion. If a certain number of cars are heading towards a particular seaside resort and there are many access roads then the traffic on each road will be light. If there is only one access road to the resort then you will have congestion.
    The problem is compounded by the perception that family doctors have assumed a filtering role for the hospitals. So patients are bypassing their doctors and going straight to casualty departments for treatment.
    Chewing a mouthful of meat, Henry reflected on why he picked on medicine as a career. Did he want to be looked up to? Did he have a vocation to serve? It certainly wasn’t for the money. It would be years before he earned a decent salary. Perhaps there were many factors