Rishi Sunak has finally admitted he has used private healthcare following weeks of speculation about whether he relied on NHS services or not. The Prime Minister said he was registered with an NHS GP, but told MPs he had used “independent” healthcare in the past.
He has previously refused to answer questions about whether he had private healthcare, insisting it was “not really relevant”. At Prime Minister’s Questions today (Jan 11), Mr Sunak said: “I am registered with an NHS GP.
“I have used independent healthcare in the past. And I’m also grateful to the Friarage Hospital for the fantastic care they have given my family over the years.”
Mr Sunak’s father was a GP while his mother ran a pharmacy. He added: “I am proud to come from an NHS family and that’s why I’m passionately committed to protecting it with more funding, more doctors and nurses and a clear plan to cut the waiting lists.”
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said if the Prime Minister had negotiated with nurses and ambulance workers they would not be on strike, and accused him of “choosing to prolong misery”. He said: “In the 13 years of the last Labour government there were no national NHS strikes.
"If the Prime Minister had negotiated with the nurses before Christmas, they wouldn’t be on strike. If he had negotiated with the ambulance workers, they wouldn’t be on strike either. So why is he choosing to prolong the misery rather than end these strikes?”
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak replied: “We’ve always been clear that we want to have constructive dialogue with the unions. That is also why when it comes to the issue of pay we have accepted in full the independent recommendations of pay review bodies.
“The honourable gentleman simply doesn’t have a policy when it comes to this question. He talks about wanting to end the strikes. The question for him is simple then: why does he not support our minimum safety legislation?”
“We all know why. It’s because he’s on the side of his union paymasters, not patients.”
Mr Sunak’s comments followed Health Secretary Steve Barclay confirming he used an NHS doctor. “I don’t subscribe to a sort of GP private thing,” the Cabinet minister told LBC.
Pressed on whether he has NHS care, Mr Barclay replied: “Yes, I don’t subscribe to private provision. But I don’t have a problem with people, with their own money, who wish to spend that money on private healthcare. I think that is a perfectly reasonable thing for people to want to do.”
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