Madam, – On a recent Friday afternoon I saw a patient who was booked in for a routine medical check-up. During that examination I noted a lump on the skin over the radius (forearm). Within five minutes I had a sample taken and ready for dispatch to the laboratory on Saturday morning. I received the results on Monday morning – the mass was benign but still required removal.
The patient was admitted that day to my own – I suppose “multi-disciplinary” – centre, where we do blood tests, X-rays, and a multitude of medical and surgical procedures. Under general anaesthesia we removed the mass and sent it for further tests to confirm our preliminary diagnosis was correct – we expected results later that week. The patient was discharged at 5pm, with reassurances that there was no evidence that the mass we found was cancerous and that this episode is probably over. The timeframe from initial presentation to diagnosis to resolution was 72 hours, and would have been 24 hours had the weekend not intervened. Is this a record? No. In my profession this is standard.
His name was Bruno, his owner was delighted, and my colleagues in the veterinary profession countrywide offer this excellent standard of care every day (and night) of the year. – Yours, etc,