Background to publishing of "Putting a surgeon under"

Brian Martin

bmartin@uow.edu.au
19 January 1998

In May 1997, I sent a draft of John Wright's article to a number of the key figures mentioned in or associated with it. My standard cover letter was as follows:

Please find enclosed a copy of a manuscript by John Wright entitled "Putting a surgeon under: a personal story of hospital politics." I plan to publish it on my web site (http://www.uow.edu.au/arts/sts/bmartin/dissent/) in the next month or so. Before proceeding, I would appreciate any comment you may have to ensure the accuracy of the story. In addition, I invite you to write a response or commentary to be published along with the manuscript. In this case, please send your contribution by e-mail or computer disc.

Please send any response to me by 16 June. If you have any queries please don't hesitate to contact me.

Until all comments are received and any necessary changes are made in the manuscript, I would appreciate your cooperation in not copying, quoting or circulating the manuscript without John Wright's permission.

Here is a summary of the responses received. Dr Wright has made alterations or additions to his article in response to some of these points.

One of the advantages of web publication is the ease with which changes can be made and material added or deleted. It is unfortunate, in my opinion, that none of the individuals listed above chose to make publicly available their own version of the events covered in Dr Wright's article. The offer for any of them or others to do so remains open. On 19 January 1998, I posted the following letter to all the individuals listed above.

Last year I sent you a draft manuscript by John Wright entitled "Putting a surgeon under: a personal story of hospital politics". A revised version of this article, taking into account comments received, can now be viewed on my web site (see http://www.uow.edu.au/arts/sts/bmartin/dissent/documents/Wright/). A printed version is enclosed for your convenience, plus a copy of my commentary on the background to the article. Also on the web site is Phillip Knightley's article "The doctor is out" from the June 1990 issue of The Independent Monthly.

Please send me any comments you may have to improve the accuracy of the story, if possible by 20 February. In addition, you have a standing invitation to write a response or commentary which I can arrange to be put on the web along with John Wright's article. Please send your contribution by e-mail or computer disc.


Go to:

John Wright, "Putting a surgeon under: a personal story of hospital politics"

Phillip Knightley, "The doctor is out": an account of the case published in The Independent Monthly.


This article is located on the

Suppression of dissent website

in the section on Documents