And it will continue until after you retire, John ... and well beyond that as well. frown

The only way to deal with them at the local level is to "show them the door" (and make sure they needn't bother coming back). I used to be able to get away with that sort of thing out in [overseas country], but how many NHS biomeds have the "authority" to act like that?

@RoJo: is there any linkage between what the biomed says (and thinks) and the purchasing of equipment? Does anybody ever listen? think

But when it comes to "tech support", well the obvious answer there is to use a third-party service provider. Or, better still, do it yourself (and source your own parts as need be)!