Word perfect | 12 January 2017

All that’s needed for Radio 4’s One to One series (Tuesdays) to succeed is a sharp-eyed interviewer, ready with the right question at the right time, and an articulate guest, not afraid to speak freely and openly, but with integrity, all too rare these days. In the opening programme, Julia Bradbury talked to Dr Martin McKechnie, an A&E consultant, about the challenges he faces day in day out. It was a timely reminder that not everything in the NHS is broken beyond repair. Most striking, perhaps, was not so much Dr McKechnie’s calm fortitude in the face of terrible human distress (remarkable thoughthis was) but the way he casually dismissed the idea of talking about his work with his family. Why would anyone outside the hospital be interested in him moaning about what a terrible day he may have had?No whingeing, then, but rather a clear-eyed understanding of what his job involvesand an ability to withstand the demands of its responsibilities.