I suspect the truth lies in what ACTUALLY happened rather than what was
reported in the papers. I would hope that we don't hear what actually
happened unless Number 10 themselves publicise it as he is just as much
entitled to confidentiality as the rest of us. [Lockey]
Well, it very much looks like Number 10 are indeed happy to publicise the
details! This from the number 10 website itself:
"Asked if the Prime Minister had been given an anaesthetic yesterday, the
PMOS said that the Prime Minister had been sedated for the treatment he had
received, but had not been given an anaesthetic. The difference between
sedation and anaesthesia was one for medics to clarify, although as he
understood it one factor related to whether the patient was able to breathe
aided or unaided. Asked if he had had an operation, the PMOS said that the
Prime Minister had received an episode of treatment for an episode of an
irregular heartbeat. He had not had an operation. Asked if the Prime
Minister had lost consciousness during his treatment, the PMOS said that he
would have been out for a very short time as a result of the sedation. He
had walked into the Hammersmith Hospital and had walked out again."
http://www.number-10.gov.uk/output/Page4683.asp
http://www.number-10.gov.uk/output/Page4686.asp
Of course, sedation would normally imply electrical cardioversion. Clearly
the press were most concerned, however, about who was officially running
the country while the PM was "incapacitated"! Although I could not find
clear official evidence to confirm electrical cardioversion, I note this
from the BBC website:
"He was kept in hospital for nearly five hours, was sedated for 20 minutes
and treated with a procedure called cardio version, which uses a small
electric shock to make the heartbeat return to normal."
Adrian Fogarty
|