I’ve been fortunate that for much of my life as a doctor, I’ve had nursing staff on standby to perform an ECG when the dreaded chest pain case comes in.  

But, for a few hours here and there in my working week, I don’t have nursing support. 

It’s always niggling at the back of my mind during these times, what will I do if a patient with chest pain arrives? 

Our practice has an ECG machine, but it’s a while since I’ve used it alone. The logistics are tricky if you’re the only healthcare practitioner present, and if you’re a male GP and a female patient (who needs a chaperone) arrives then it’s even more difficult to do.