Old malingerer gives in to lure of hospital again

Press, 21 May 1979, Page 8

Old malingerer gives in to lure of hospital again

NZPA London A few days ago William Mcllroy promised to settle down at an old people’s home in Birmingham and keep away from doctors. But the 71-year-old Mr Mcllroy, the man who has been dubbed “The Million Pound Malingerer,” has turned up in hospital again, this time in the Scottish Highlands. Mr Mcllroy entered medical history last month when two London doctors chronicled his story in the “British Medical Journal.”

After years of research they discovered the malingerer had been a patient in at least 68 hospitals between 1944 and 1978. His ability to feign the correct symtoms won him more than 200 admissions and numerous unnecessary operations. The cost to the National Health Service has been estimated at more than £IM (51.95 M Mr Mcllroy’s latest hospital admission came to a rapid end, however, when the doctors discovered the man they thought was

Samuel Jones was in fact the malingerer. According to the “Daily Mail,” he managed to gain admission to the Raigmore Hospital in Inverness after collapsing in the town centre, a ruse he has apparently used before. “I fancied a bit of a change,” said Mr Mcllroy. ‘Tve never been here before. Although limping from what he called an old Navy wound, Mr Mcllroy, w hen asked what his genuine condition was, replied, “I mustn’t complain.”