A regular point of discussion at HSJTowers is whether we should publish pictures of demonstrations against NHS cuts and closures.
Before we are accused of Stalinist censorship, I should add that no-one is proposing to stop running all protest pics. But should we should run lots of them - because there are a lot of demos going on these days? News values will out, but one cannot help feeling sympathy for HSJ readers who have to put up with being on the axis of evil for hordes of banner-waving locals.
You need to be made of stern stuff to be a hardcore campaigner (and an NHS manager, I hear you chorus). A while back I profiled several campaigners for an HSJ feature and found them all charming but exhausting company. And the older they were the more dynamic they got.
Of course you need something to campaign about in the first place. I mention this only because I fear a full-scale stop the cuts campaign in my neighbourhood.
It is not that I want to curtail our right to get upset about local issues. It is just that I dread being torn between the desire to be terribly reasonable - as every good, impartial HSJjourno is - and wanting to harness the public's 'right' to have every possible bit of healthcare available to them just around the corner, on the spot.
But I think I might get away with it. The cuts near me are going to impact on many residents, but few of them seem to be up in arms so far - unless all the protests are taking place on weekdays and the local media isn't invited.
Of course not having to use the NHS all that often means I am more dispassionate. That and being confident that we have not yet reached the point where accident and emergency services close (remember that?) lest I - or a loved one - get hit by a bus.
But how do managers and politicians manage if they or their families need a service that is not available locally - pull some strings or put up with it?
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