Reporters were asked to leave a public meeting set up as part of an investigation into a local hospital.
Nicholas Bieber, left, from the Northampton Herald and Post, was among journalists covering a “listening event” held by the Care Quality Commission, which is investigating Northampton General Hospital.
The meeting was set up for people to share their experiences of the hospital but after an introductory session, journalists were asked to leave by the CQC, who said their presence may put people off from telling their stories.
But Nicholas and a BBC reporter who was also present stood their ground and those attending the meeting were asked for a show of hands of they wanted the press to leave.
As no one objected, the journalists were then allowed to stay in the meeting to report on it.
Herald and Post Editor Steve Scoles said: “I am delighted Nick stood his ground in this situation. Like any town, the hospital is a hugely important institution and it is vital the investigation by the CQC happens in the most open way possible.”
The event was held ahead of an inspection by the CQC into the hospital and before this took place, the hospital warned that there were expected to be a series of problems uncovered, including high mortality rates and missed waiting time targets.
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Good on him for his quick thinking.
Sounds like the ed is being a bit hard on his method; it sounds like a smart way to resolve the situation, to me.
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I was at the event and it was actually Healthwatch that asked for a show of hands – not this reporter – incorrect reporting here. The media did not let people know who they were and the CQC were acting in the best interests of the public – the CQC were not presenting, they were simply giving people opportunity to talk about their experiences. They were not trying to hide anything which all media in Northamptons involved has tried to portray. this is a case of media publicising the negative when in fact there was a lot of good things said about our hospital
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@mm7654 northampton – you’re a hospital press office spin doctor and I claim my £5.
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Well done, Nic!
They should have reporters present when they are discussing salary rises for hospital managers because these bigwigs are paid far too much public money.
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It’s good to see there are still young reporters around who know what journalism is all about. The lad should go far…
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Well done Nick. It’s either a public meeting or a secret meeting. If it’s public, then the press should be allowed in.
And yes, mm7654, how are things in the NGH press office?
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Few things, first the editor’s comment are pretty miserly. The lad thought on his feet, and any ‘guidance’ should have been given before sending him to the meeting by the newsdesk.
Second, what’s wrong with putting forward the hospital’s view? We are always taught there are 2 sides to every story. The comments about who actually asked for the show of hands is very relevant. If it wasn’t the reporter then this story is a bit of a non-event.
And thirdly, publicly bodies sometimes need to close their doors to the public for reasons of personal confidentiality. It’s not always the case they are scared of making decisions in public, it’s mostly that some of the supporting paperwork and therefore debate ensuing from that can have very sensitive information in which would not be in the public interest to divulge.
Unfortunately, most of the above comes with experience… something which is a rare commodity in these days of poor pay, redundancies and getting in keen to completely inexperienced newly qualified journos to do jobs which, once upon a time, would have only been covered by experienced hacks.
No wonder papers are full of mistakes.
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So let’s hear what actually happened – first hand from Nick please.
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Well, I don’t know who mm7654 is, but I can assure you that they do not represent the NGH ‘press office’ – I do and I am not a spin doctor. Does that mean Bluestringer owes me £5?? If so, please make a donation to the NGH Greenheart Charity. I was present at the listening event as an observer. What mm7654 says is accurate – whoever they are.
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I was at the meeting and I saw Nick talking to the reps on his table saying something and he looked angry. The woman at the back was the one who made her voice heard. I think it is correct that Nick did speak up, but it was the woman at the back who was heard by everyone.
Either way, I applaud anyone who speaks up for their rights!
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The boy done well. It was a public meeting open to anyone presumably, so it’s plainly wrong to say a reporter can’t be there. Noli illigitimi carborundum.
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@mm7654 – It’s not up to journalists to declare ourselves wherever we go. In the end, we’re just citizens with notebooks, there to witness events on behalf of everyone else.
If the hospital, patients or CQC had objections to a reporter being there then it’s up to them to speak up and give a very good reason for excluding him. A credible journalist would identify himself when asked to do so – it’s in the Code.
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Why send a greenhorn if its such an important meeting. Probably all they had. All the experienced hacks on local papers have lost jobs or left in dismay at dreadful standards of staffing and editing.
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I find this article bizarre. I was one of the three ‘women at the back’ who spoke to the whole room and we were the only three people who did. Nicholas did not address the room at all although he may have discussed the matter at his table.
Firstly a BBC Radio Northampton journalist challenged the requirement from CQC that the media leave the room. CQC offered a compromise where the media may wait outside and grab interviews with willing participants as they left (!). I pointed out that CQC had not asked any of us for our preference and I, for one, wished the media to be present at the whole event. Then the woman from Healthwatch asked for a show of hands.
The more I think about this the more I am disgusted that a professional journalist should try to steal credit in this way. I suggest that the editor’s guidance be focussed squarely on truth in journalism.
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It is great to see a local paper actually attending a meeting about a subject which will have real impact on its readers.
But as I understand it this meeting, while open to the public, was to hear patients’ views on their experience of the hospital.
Inevitably this would mean people, perhaps not used to speaking in public, talking about health and other personal issues.
As an independent investigating body the CQC would want to hear attendee’s candid comments.
I am sure Nicholas, like any responsible reporter in a similar situation, would have identified himself to the organisers, they would have asked those attending if they had any concerns and he would then have agreed a common sense approach to reporting a sensitive subject.
As reported here the impression is of a reporter being thrown out of a neo-nazi rally or going undercover at a dog-fight.
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I am the miserly editor named in the story above. I’ve since learned more about the incident and would like to add that the BBC journalist Elinor Cross played a significant part in ensuring the press were allowed to stay. I am still proud of Nick’s strident defence of the journalists’ right to be at the meeting but I am now aware all of the journalists present at the meeting were involved to some degree. To be fair to the CQC I believe they were trying to act in the best interests of their investigation but the press is too readily shut out of things these days and it is heartening these young journalists took a stand.