The Liverpool Echo contemplates the political power of Mrs. Dixon's shoulder:
Could this woman bring down Tony Blair? Apr 3 2005 [ ... ] Jane Woodhead looks at how Margaret Dixon's broken shoulder is proving a mighty headache for the PM
The plight of Margaret Dixon and the story of her delayed operation is now emblazened all over the local and national media and television.
So just how has this 69-year-old grandmother become such a cause celebre in only a few days?
The most likely answer: Because she is in the centre of a political battleground which holds no bounds as both Labour and the Conservatives each fight for electoral advantage.
Would any of the politicians have been particularly concerned if there was not an impending general election?
Probably not. And while in one corner of the boxing ring, the Tories are slamming Mrs Dixon's situation as indicative of the problems within the health system at large, in the opposite corner, Labour is accusing the Tories of jumping on one unfortunate case to denigrate the entire NHS.
The Battle of Margaret's Shoulder, as it has been called in Westminster, is not the first case of a patient's suffering being seized upon by politicians - many of whom are more concerned about gaining political points than helping the victims.
In 1992, the War of Jennifer's Ear was started by Labour when it claimed that five-year-old Jennifer Bennett had to wait 11 months for surgery to treat glue ear. [ ... ]
Mrs Dixon, who lives in Penketh, Warrington, needs surgery to relieve constant pain from the shoulder which she broke in a fall last August.
But planned operations at Warrington Hospital have been repeatedly postponed - an issue which is also at the centre of a political fight, with North Cheshire NHS Trust claiming there have only been three cancelled operations, NOT seven as is being broadcast by Tory politicians.
Lorna Bourke, psychologist at Liverpool Hope University, explains that a situation like this could well give the Tories extra sway when it comes to the general election.
"Case studies are really important; that is what sticks in people's minds. It is always the human interest story which people want to read.
"I think this is the reason why the Health Secretary Dr John Reid has panicked and come up to Warrington because he knew how this story could escalate.
"Health is an issue which people really worry about.
The Tories won the War of Jennifer's Ear, by the way, at least they were returned to power despite the claims of National Health Service mismanagement. The details are found in a Yorkshire Post article:
The "War of Jennifer's Ear" played a dominant role in the 1992 General Election when the treatment of five-year-old Jennifer Bennett was raised during a party election broadcast by Labour under its then leader Neil Kinnock.
It was claimed the child had to wait 11 months for surgery to treat "glue ear", while another little girl who had gone private was treated without delay. Her family, who was not named in the broadcast, was tracked down by newspapers, some of which denounced the broadcast as a fraud.
The Daily Express, which had been put in touch – by the Tories – with the child's surgeon questioned the authenticity of the account, and the Sun ran a story asking: "If Kinnock will tell lies about a sick little girl, will he ever tell the truth about anything?"
The next three days were dominated by stories about the merits of the broadcast and who leaked information about the girl's family and not, as Labour had hoped, on general health issues.
It transpired that Jennifer's grandfather, a staunch Tory, had informed the Conservatives before the broadcast about what Labour was planning.
But fights over celebrated body parts did not begin with socialized medicine,
The War of Jenkin's Ear (an amputation without informed consent) was an actual shooting major war between Great Britain and Spain.
And Mrs. Rosa Parks Feet (too sore to stand while whites-only seating was available in the bus) began the great Civil Rights Movement of the last century.
Personal Message: To the luminous sisters, this one is for you, particularly Jen.
