Just for a laugh, you should go along and say you're one of them. Just before the anaesthetist puts you under say, "Stop, I'm not really pregnant, just pulling your leg!"

That would be really funny. He he.

Congratulations, I guess, and I hope your sis-in-law has a safe and uncomplicated time in hospital.

Best wishes to your sister and her baby. I hope and trust the baby is born now, so what follows is a moot point, but if it is any comfort in my experience NHS dopiness in certain areas can be combined with competence in others.

Thanks, guys.

Natalie, you're very right. As we both know, one of the biggest problems with the NHS is the lack of any reliable mechanism for distinguishing between good and bad staff. You just never know which you'll get from one moment to the next.