How come we didn't know? CENSORED
In early July NHS Norfolk Action Group with Norfolk Keep Our NHS Public displayed the exhibition in the Forum, a prestigious building in the centre of Norwich which houses the BBC as well as the Central Library.
It was launched on Wednesday 5th July with a ‘Birthday Bash’ for the NHS 69th birthday.
On Thursday, Jan Ainsley one of the organisers was told that the exhibition had to be taken down immediately. Timothy Bishop the Forum CEO claimed that he had been misinformed about the political content of the exhibition .
Jan McLachlan, from the Norfolk Action Group(NAG) , said: “NHS NAG are shocked by the fact we have been asked to dismantle the ‘How Come We Didn’t Know?’ exhibition.
“The exhibition comprises of photographs of some of the buildings occupied by corporations who now own parts of the NHS.
“Forum chief executive Tim Bishop said there had been no public complaints about the exhibition, but that it was ‘a political campaign, not an exhibition’ and ‘narrowly party political’ and he felt the Forum had been misled about the content of the exhibition.
“We think people of all political persuasions are concerned about the future of the NHS. We see this as censorship.” See Eastern Daily Press 6.7.17
However, the Forum’s own website [notice now deleted ] described the exhibition as ‘about the corporate take over of the NHS’. So there was no misinformation.
Is It relevant that the Forum Trust appointed a new chairman in December 2014 to head its Board of Trustees? John Fry, chairman of the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Trust and of Adare Group – and the former chief executive of the Archant media group – formally took over in January 2015.http://www.theforumnorwich.co.uk/about-the-forum/the-forum-trust
In early July NHS Norfolk Action Group with Norfolk Keep Our NHS Public displayed the exhibition in the Forum, a prestigious building in the centre of Norwich which houses the BBC as well as the Central Library.
It was launched on Wednesday 5th July with a ‘Birthday Bash’ for the NHS 69th birthday.
On Thursday, Jan Ainsley one of the organisers was told that the exhibition had to be taken down immediately. Timothy Bishop the Forum CEO claimed that he had been misinformed about the political content of the exhibition .
Jan McLachlan, from the Norfolk Action Group(NAG) , said: “NHS NAG are shocked by the fact we have been asked to dismantle the ‘How Come We Didn’t Know?’ exhibition.
“The exhibition comprises of photographs of some of the buildings occupied by corporations who now own parts of the NHS.
“Forum chief executive Tim Bishop said there had been no public complaints about the exhibition, but that it was ‘a political campaign, not an exhibition’ and ‘narrowly party political’ and he felt the Forum had been misled about the content of the exhibition.
“We think people of all political persuasions are concerned about the future of the NHS. We see this as censorship.” See Eastern Daily Press 6.7.17
However, the Forum’s own website [notice now deleted ] described the exhibition as ‘about the corporate take over of the NHS’. So there was no misinformation.
Is It relevant that the Forum Trust appointed a new chairman in December 2014 to head its Board of Trustees? John Fry, chairman of the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Trust and of Adare Group – and the former chief executive of the Archant media group – formally took over in January 2015.http://www.theforumnorwich.co.uk/about-the-forum/the-forum-trust
LETTER OF OBJECTION TO THE CENSORSHIP
26 July 2017
To the Board of Trustees, The Forum Trust
cc. Tim Bishop, Chief Executive
Dear Trustees,
I am writing to you to express my objection to the decision to ban the photographic exhibition on the NHS “How Come We Didn’t Know”?
The chief executive Tim Bishop has stated that this exhibition was a “political campaign, not an exhibition”.
I saw the exhibition before it was dismantled, and far from representing a ‘narrowly party political’ bias or agenda it provided a completely factual ad objective account of the on-going privatisation of the NHA. On that score it was educational and informative.
If there is anything “political” here it lies in the Trust’s decision to act as censors and to ban the exhibition. No member of the public complained to you, so the judgement is purely your own. What does this tell us about your own political values that you have the arrogance to think should over-ride the public interest? I find it disconcerting that the chairman of the Board of Trustees, John Fry, is also chairman of the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Trust.
I would remind you that in creating the Forum Trust in 1998, you took over a public space, that of the old City Library. You have a duty to continue to act in the interest of the people of Norwich, not as a quasi-commercial outfit that has a licence to engage in the privatisation of public space. I suggest that you take a look at the book by the sociologist Anna Minton, Ground Control (2009), in which she provides an analysis of the creeping process by which public space is being overtaken by private companies, malls and gated estates so that streets and public spaces that were in the hands of democratically elected local government are falling under the control of private police forces and unaccountable private landlords. You are part of that insidious process.
Finally, I notice that chairman John Fry is also former chief executive of Archant media and chairman of the Adare Group. In a world in which a conservative media controls access to information, and provides a slanted and deeply political view of the world we live in, it is not at all easy for the public to get a full picture of what is happening to the NHS. This is not a flat playing field, and as such those who seek to enter into a public debate on the NHS are at a huge disadvantage, compared to the powerful interests that control the media. In this situation the decision of the Forum to ban this small exhibition is a disgrace.
Yours sincerely,
Dr Neil MacMaster
26 July 2017
To the Board of Trustees, The Forum Trust
cc. Tim Bishop, Chief Executive
Dear Trustees,
I am writing to you to express my objection to the decision to ban the photographic exhibition on the NHS “How Come We Didn’t Know”?
The chief executive Tim Bishop has stated that this exhibition was a “political campaign, not an exhibition”.
I saw the exhibition before it was dismantled, and far from representing a ‘narrowly party political’ bias or agenda it provided a completely factual ad objective account of the on-going privatisation of the NHA. On that score it was educational and informative.
If there is anything “political” here it lies in the Trust’s decision to act as censors and to ban the exhibition. No member of the public complained to you, so the judgement is purely your own. What does this tell us about your own political values that you have the arrogance to think should over-ride the public interest? I find it disconcerting that the chairman of the Board of Trustees, John Fry, is also chairman of the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Trust.
I would remind you that in creating the Forum Trust in 1998, you took over a public space, that of the old City Library. You have a duty to continue to act in the interest of the people of Norwich, not as a quasi-commercial outfit that has a licence to engage in the privatisation of public space. I suggest that you take a look at the book by the sociologist Anna Minton, Ground Control (2009), in which she provides an analysis of the creeping process by which public space is being overtaken by private companies, malls and gated estates so that streets and public spaces that were in the hands of democratically elected local government are falling under the control of private police forces and unaccountable private landlords. You are part of that insidious process.
Finally, I notice that chairman John Fry is also former chief executive of Archant media and chairman of the Adare Group. In a world in which a conservative media controls access to information, and provides a slanted and deeply political view of the world we live in, it is not at all easy for the public to get a full picture of what is happening to the NHS. This is not a flat playing field, and as such those who seek to enter into a public debate on the NHS are at a huge disadvantage, compared to the powerful interests that control the media. In this situation the decision of the Forum to ban this small exhibition is a disgrace.
Yours sincerely,
Dr Neil MacMaster
