While John Gilbert was in hospital, he asked his doctor to tell him whether his operation had been successful, but the doctor refused to do so. The following day, the patient asked for a bedside telephone. When he was alone, he telephoned the hospital exchange and asked for Doctor Millington. When the doctor answered the phone, Mr. Gilbert said he was inquiring about a certain patient, a Mr. John Gilbert. He asked if Mr. Gilbert's operation had been successful and the doctor told him that it had been. He then asked when Mr. Gilbert would be allowed to go home and the doctor told him that he would have to stay in hosptial for another two weeks. Then Dr. Millington asked the caller if he was a relative of the patient. 'No,' the patient answered, 'I am Mr. John Gilbert.'

请教专家：

1）黑体字had been 由于是be动词表示状态的动词，所以可以不用had been, 直接用was就可以了。对吗？这个问题一直没有搞懂过，所以麻烦专家答疑解惑，谢谢！

2) a certain patient 和 a patient 含义怎么理解差别呢？感觉意思一样啊？ 2个would都是预测，不是主语的意志吧？