National Elf Service

Paul R Goddard, a retired consultant radiologist, has taken a Swift-like move and penned a slim satirical cartoon book. A former President of various medical societies including the Radiology Section of the Royal Society of Medicine, the Bristol Medico Chirurgical Society and the MRRA (UK), Professor Goddard is no stranger to controversy. His witty cartoons will cause much merriment amongst the workers in the National Elf Service, apart, perhaps, from some of the less discerning management and political acolytes (the more discerning will undoubtedly also enjoy the book!). There is an Elf Service in Cloud Cuckoo Land, a place that is sometimes known as Faerie and Elfdom. It is strange how the National Elf Service seems to mirror our own wonderful NHS but is peculiarly different.....in our system the patients are not cranked in on a giant conveyor belt such that a new patient arrives even as the last is leaving the surgery....and there is no huge physical gulf between the managers and the clinical staff as management try to pull the doctors over the cliff edge onto the rocks of despair! (Are you sure? ed.) In Faerie (Cloud Cuckoo Land?) the Right Horrible Jellybean Shunt is in charge...so different from our own world but eerily similar. He seems to think that the junior dwarves (doctors?) can work ten days a week. To find out what happens you will have to either purchase the book or steal one from some unsuspecting NHS worker who has placed his copy within easy reach. This book will make a great present for anyone who works in the health services... perhaps as a birthday or Christmas gift for a real worker or as a retirement present for a higher management acolyte?

Professor Paul R Goddard has written ten textbooks, fourteen novels, an anthology of poetry and around 500 medical papers. During his medical career Paul won prizes for his medical publications including the Couch Award and the Twining Medal of the Royal College of Radiologists and the Barclay Prize from the British Institute of Radiology, 2002/2003. His fiction is intended to be mind expanding and provocative and covers broad subjects of good and evil, philosophy and science as well as fast and exciting action in fantasy and science fiction settings. It is suitable for all ages from 11 onwards. Paul is a Visiting Professor at the University of the West of England, leader of the Bristol band Dr Jazz, and enjoys painting in acrylics. He designs the covers of his own books and recently had three pieces of art on display at an exhibition in New York. He has recorded three number ones in the Amazon download of e-books worldwide rankings and two books that came in second. The number one hits were Reincarnation which reached the top spot in Financial thrillers (Amazon free downloads worldwide) keeping another of his books, The writing on the wall at number two, Oberons Bane (Number 1 Celtic, English and Welsh Myths and Legends) and Parables from Parallel Places (Number 1 Poetry anthologies).