Johnson takes to the stage in Nottingham

It used to be said that the Queen must think all hospitals smell of fresh paint, such were the efforts made by staff to refurbish any building she might visit.

In the case of Health Secretary Alan Johnson, it must seem like each hospital he goes to has just achieved success with a new medical innovation.

Mr Johnson was in Nottingham to visit City Hospital and see its state-of-the-art stroke referral service, which allows victims of strokes to be taken from their GP directly to a specialist ward. The service has already helped 110 people in Notts and even saved a policeman's life earlier this year.

But from the Government's point of view, it gives the NHS a chance to show the positive things it is doing around the country in the face of some generally cynical media coverage.

Visits of Government ministers to the provinces are usually pretty chaotic from a journalist's point of view. We generally spend most of the day sitting around in waiting rooms as the politician concerned meets the patients and staff, while a slightly flustered team of public relations officials circle round and try to head off any unscripted moments which might send them "off message".

By the time I joined the rest of assembled press pack at the City Hospital, the health secretary was already running ahead of schedule. This might not sound notable, but for a Government minister making stops around the country it is virtually unheard of.

Soon the carefully scripted procession though the stroke and urology departments took Mr Johnson round to the waiting reporters. As I waited in an interview room for him to finish speaking to the television news reporters I struck up conversation with a middle-aged woman whom I assumed to be part of the PR team.

It turned out to be influential Guardian columnist Polly Toynbee, accompanying the health secretary on his visit for an upcoming article. Given her reputation as a New Labourite and supporter of many government policies, some may say the distinction from the rest of the PR team isn't that vast.

In the end, I didn't get quite as much chance to grill Mr Johnson on the NHS in Notts as I would like. After giving him an easy question about the new stroke service, I only managed to ask two more questions about the hospital trust's superbug record and financial situation before my interview was cut short due to time constraints. Even the Evening Post photographer was stopped from taking pictures after only a few snaps.

A few minutes later a relaxed looking Alan Johnson (with Polly Toynbee) strolled out of the hospital door and onto a waiting patient link bus. It might have been a big event for the local media, but for him and his team it was just another day in the never-ending drive for positive publicity.

What do you think of visits to hospitals by Government officials? Are they important for our NHS or just a photo opportunity?