Waiting Game

When I began drawing cartoons for The Westmorland Gazette, one of my jobs was to campaign for the Westmorland General Hospital to be built.

Spool forward 30 years and I am still drawing cartoons about WGH, this time campaigning to keep the place open.

The Morecambe Bay Health Trust * has started a consultation exercise to decide what it is going to do about the three major hospitals in the area. The name of this exercise is Better Care Together, the sort of platitudinous name which leads me to suspect that someone is about to get stuffed. WGH may lose some services. There is even a rumour that the entire site will be 'gifted' to a social enterprise. This is presumably consultant-speak for flogged off to the highest bidding private health care provider.

Defending the hospital's services is going to be a major campaign for The Westmorland Gazette and I was keen to get on board. Cartoons aren't just for jokes, you know.

Talking of jokes, Prince Charles was visiting the area so I thought I better do one about him too.

Below are the four ideas I submitted to my steamed editor. Which one would YOU have chosen? Answers in the comments box below, please.

* Morecambe Bay Health Trust isn't called that any more but the new name is too difficult to remember.