Dixon case only the latest

Analysis
By Nick Assinder
Political Correspondent, BBC News website

When Michel Howard threw the case of Margaret Dixon at Tony Blair during question time it provoked an overwhelming sense of deja vu.

Mr Howard used Mrs Dixon's case to attack the government

This was not the first time a politician had used the plight of an individual in an attempt to say something general about the NHS and the government of the day's failure to run it properly.

But, it has to be said, the record of these incidents is not good, with the individuals concerned finding themselves thrust into the centre of bitter, and sometimes extremely nasty political battle.

Probably the most famous of these was the case of "Jennifer's ear" which erupted in the middle of the 1992 general election.

Neil Kinnock's Labour party, then in opposition, featured the case of five-year-old Jennifer Bennett in an election broadcast.

The child was not named but it was claimed she had waited 11 months for surgery to treat "glue ear".

The Conservative party hit back after her doctor announced that the delay had been caused by an administrative accident.

Both harmed

Then it all turned nasty and deeply personal amid allegations of political dirty tricks and press intrusion and investigations into who revealed her name and her family's background.

Surveys done at the time suggested neither party gained a political advantage as a result of the spat.

Indeed it was suggested they had both been harmed by the unpleasant tone of the campaign and that voters were deeply unhappy with the entire affair.

Rose Addis case was raised by Tories

Probably the next most memorable case was that of 94-year-old Rose Addis, raised by Tory opposition leader Iain Duncan Smith three years ago.

Mrs Addis' family claimed she had been left unwashed and neglected for three days in the casualty department of a north London hospital.

Mr Duncan Smith, her constituency MP, used the case as an example of how the NHS was failing under the New Labour government.

Turned off

Another deeply unpleasant political row ensued, with claims that the government had turned the full weight of the Whitehall machine onto the Addis family in an attempt to smear them, and even allowed them to be portrayed as racist.

At that time, Labour minister John Reid claimed raising the case of an individual was the "lowest form of political debate" and said voters would be turned off by it.

Once again, however, there were signs that both sides may have suffered as a result of the row although the Tories believed they made their point.

Now it is the case of Margaret Dixon, and there are more than a few similarities between her case and previous ones.

I personally had a very good experience with the NHS. This doesn't mean that the NHS is good as a whole though Will, London Have Your Say

The fact that it comes during what is clearly an unofficial election campaign will likely serve to only sharpen the row.

The Tories currently believe they have highlighted a genuine problem with the health service and have thrown the government onto the back foot.

But, as the row escalates and the media turns its full attention onto the case, it is probably too early to say just who will end up the winners and losers.