The Power of Protest in Healthcare
Lessons From a Doctor’s Journey to Activism
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"This was avoidable. These are unnecessary deaths. It's not a 'war'. This is a health crisis. This is systemic negligence."
When Dr Meenal Viz, a heavily pregnant frontline NHS doctor, witnessed her colleagues die from the negligent handling of the Covid-19 pandemic, she was determined to take a stand.
This trail-blazing account explores the influences that drive powerful protest through the story of Dr Viz's refusal to back down in the face of mounting pressure, prejudice, and adversity. It details her landmark legal case against the UK government which led to national changes to PPE guidelines and legal obligations around risk assessments for NHS staff.
Dr Viz provides a beacon for healthcare professionals who are invested in social justice and want a realistic and honest understanding of what that means in actionable terms, stage by stage. Examples of protests and stories of activism from all walks of life are included, and the relationship between power, privilege, and personal circumstance is explored to help readers reflect on their own distinct ability in creating sustainable change.
When Dr Meenal Viz, a heavily pregnant frontline NHS doctor, witnessed her colleagues die from the negligent handling of the Covid-19 pandemic, she was determined to take a stand.
This trail-blazing account explores the influences that drive powerful protest through the story of Dr Viz's refusal to back down in the face of mounting pressure, prejudice, and adversity. It details her landmark legal case against the UK government which led to national changes to PPE guidelines and legal obligations around risk assessments for NHS staff.
Dr Viz provides a beacon for healthcare professionals who are invested in social justice and want a realistic and honest understanding of what that means in actionable terms, stage by stage. Examples of protests and stories of activism from all walks of life are included, and the relationship between power, privilege, and personal circumstance is explored to help readers reflect on their own distinct ability in creating sustainable change.
- Published: Oct 21 2025
- Pages: 176
- ISBN: 9781839978418
Press Reviews
Dr Musharrat J. Ahmed-Landeryou Ph.D., author of Antiracist Occupational Therapy: Unsettling the Status Quo
Dr Meenal Viz's book is rich, full of wisdom and a palpable autoethnography of her embodied brown woman's activism journey, in an unfathomable period in the UK's history of political failing, on a grand scale. Her moral and ethical drive and conviction grabs you ever increasingly through the chapters. She accurately captures the confusion, fear and devastation during the Covid pandemic, her chronological story telling of the events from her insider viewpoint is not only haunting but gripping at the same time. I could not put the book down, I read it in one sitting; I needed to know what happened next, what did Meenal do next, what was Meenal feeling and thinking. The book ends in hope and guidance. A definite must read for your reading list.
Heena Mahmood, Author of Minority Ethnic Voices in Healthcare Professions
This is a powerful, emotive book. Meenal Viz's bravery and courage to protest alone during the pandemic and narrate her experience of activism is one for all healthcare workers to reflect on, especially as healthcare workers continue to be silenced.