Australian Doctor 8th Nov Issue | Page 20

Opinion

8 NOVEMBER 2024 ausdoc . com . au
Guest Editorial

A troubled and eccentric GP with a profound vision

The story that has stayed with me for over 50 years .
CANONGATE BOOKS
Dr Sassall says at one point : “ Whenever I am reminded of death — and it happens every day — I think of my own , and this makes me try to work harder .”
All of us back then learnt to
observe death as medical students
and young doctors .
But it was not an expected part
of our course . Perhaps we were
seduced by medicine ’ s wonders .
What we were never prepared for at
all were the numbers of our class-
Dr Malcolm Fisher Retired intensive care specialist .
mates who would take their own lives .

THERE are many books that have influenced my life , starting with The Famous Five series and then the

PICTURE CREDIT
There were four men and one woman .
We were only exposed to an inkling of their reasoning ; their deaths lay in the margins , unspoken .
As young doctors , there were
New English Bible .
other books , of course . The one that
But during my time at medical
everyone seemed to have read was
school , back in the England of the
The House of God by Samuel Shem ,
late 1960s , the one that was read by
published in 1978 . It was a book we
most of my classmates was A Fortu-
found funny .
nate Man .
Today , when I discuss it with
Written by the Marxist critic John
those who grew up with it , much
Berger , it is a meditation on the life
of the humour has evaporated , not
of a GP named Dr John Sassall .
least because of its derogatory atti-
The book attempts to address two
tude towards women .
questions : what is the value of medi-
It is important to note that my
cine to society , and what is the value
female colleagues back in my medi-
of a doctor ?
cal student days were all reading The
We asked those questions our-
Female Eunuch by Germaine Greer .
selves many times .
But A Fortunate Man made a deep
I still have a copy of the book .
impression on me that I have never
The pictures of Dr Sassall with his
escaped .
patients in the rural community
Dr Sassall was consumed by a
where he practised are remarkable . A
vision of medicine that is no longer
form of high art .
fashionable , one where he bore wit-
At the time when Berger was
ness to the value of all human lives ,
writing the book , Dr Sassall — a
but one where he was also over-
pseudonym by the way ; his real name was Dr John Eskell — was living in the Forest of Dean , where the
Dr John Sassall with a patient in A Fortunate Man . Photo by Jean Mohr .
whelmed by the suffering of his own patients and his own sense of inadequacy .
upper class were the gentry and the
I encourage people to read it .
lower class were the foresters .
that , in the context of a modern soci-
question can be answered , it cannot
of selling cures — either directly to
At the end of the book , you learn
His relationship with the for-
ety largely blind to the true worth of
be answered by more words but only
the patient or through the agency of
a secret about Dr Sassall that I am
esters was such that they came to
human life , the value of medicine in
by action , by the creation of a more
a state service — is “ unassessable ”.
not going to share with you . It would
believe he was the only person from
alleviating suffering or prolonging its
humane society .
Berger ’ s meaning was obscure
spoil an excellent read , as well as the
the gentry with whom they could use the f-word .
In our classes at medical school , this bad language was an interesting starting point for us in understanding patients because we did not see it
He was overwhelmed by the suffering of his own patients and his own sense of inadequacy .
to us .
He also contends that the life of Dr Sassall — who you discover is a troubled , hyper-conscientious and eccentric man — contains a great affirmative vision of importance to
photos .
If this news story has raised issues for you , call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or contact your local doctors ’ health advisory service .
as appropriate behaviour .
all doctors despite the tragedies and
As for Berger ’ s reply to the questions he poses , first , he suggests
existence becomes obscured .
However , he stresses that , if the
He also says the moral value of a doctor who has surpassed the stage
the shadow of death that fall around us .
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