A human tale of a real issue

Professionally, she is to be admired. Personally, she can be offhand and provocative. She is also fiercely intelligent, determined, practical and, most importantly, a staunch advocate for her patients. She stands in stark contrast to the boorish and cravenly smug private consultants she meets.

The opening 20 pages of the novel are stunning. Like the first 20 minutes of Saving Private Ryan, they are a rush of adrenaline in the midst of a hectic operation that is quickly descending into an emergency.

Shuker’s command of detail and subject knowledge is deeply impressive.

Shuker’s ultimate focus is on the tension between ‘‘individual clinical freedom’’ and ‘‘cookbook medicine’’.

I had two major concerns about the novel. First is Shuker’s parallel story of the Challenger disaster, when the rocket exploded after a fault developed in the O-rings. Human error here also resulted in deaths. But the scale of the two disasters is immensely different. Liz’s problems stem primarily from fatigue from a punishing and relentless schedule, imposed by a demanding health board. The same is not the case with the Challenger catastrophe.

Second is the characterisation of Liz. She is, simply, too freighted with extra baggage. This extra weight tends to distract from her plight, rather than add valuable background.

Nevertheless, A Mistake is a hugely valuable and personal addition to the current debate on hospital workloads and the effect they can have. It paints a real, human picture that is sure to remain with you.