BBC Radio 4, February 10, 2021 and on BBC Sounds

We’re three decades from now, and doctors have been replaced by the MedPatch app that monitors everything – which of course means it is much better than what came before…

Welcome to MedPatch, the first play to be given the Dangerous Visions brand this year, is a very mixed bag. It starts off with a “history” lesson, telling how the development of the app is the best thing since… the mould on sliced bread, and could even deal immediately with COVID-44. It’s put doctors and nurses out of work, but former doctor Jenna – a nicely judged performance from Ophelia Lovibond – manages to get work at a call centre for MedPatch, even though her other half, Luke, who’s in IT there, doesn’t think that should be possible. Jenna’s medical instincts kick in, though and she’s very concerned about one of her callers…

Kevin Core’s script isn’t a diatribe about the privatisation of medicine (although there is a bit of that towards the end from a character with a vested interest) but more of a Robin Cook/Michael Crichton-esque thriller… for about 20 minutes. And then it becomes something else, something which doesn’t fit with the tone that’s been set.

Gary Brown has assembled a strong cast but it feels as if this has either been slimmed down from a one-hour original, or has had an ending tacked on that doesn’t quite work.

Verdict: An interesting, but uneven, listen. 6/10

Paul Simpson