Susan Osborne: Shutting out the press keeps public in the dark about state of the NHS

Making the general public fully aware of the decline of the NHS would force the government to act, says Susan Osborne

In December last year, journalist AA Gill died from lung cancer. In his final column for the Sunday Times, he made two pertinent points about health care.

Firstly, that the UK has some of the worst cancer mortality rates in the world. And secondly, that the NHS is so ‘resistant to press enquiries’ that adequately briefing the public about the health service is almost impossible.

Contrast this with the prison service, where the media is able to inform the public about overcrowding, unmet basic hygiene needs and the difficult working conditions of prison officers. It seems that as a result, the government