The NHS uses 130,000 pagers, 10 per cent of the world’s total, and a fraction that slightly increased on 17 September when several thousand of those belonging to Hezbollah exploded. In fact, the NHS, where I work, and Hezbollah share certain problems when it comes to communication infrastructure. A few years ago, I was delighted to see a ward computer with a floppy disk drive – 5.25”, of all things, and be thankful if you’re too young to know the difference between that and 3.5”.
To experience the tyranny of a pager, to wear a small device on one’s belt and live under its fickle imperious sway, is to understand St Augustine saying of God
Our communication continues to rely, as it has for decades, on pagers – or bleeps, as NHS staff call them, whose messages are usually limited to showing the number someone wants you to dial. I recall the pride and anxiety of receiving mine, a quarter century ago, alongside my long white coat, on my first working day.
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