Sajid Javid
(Picture: AFP/Getty)Sajid Javid has left people incredibly confused after setting out his vision for healthcare in the UK - and spoiler alert he doesn’t sound that happy about the state’s role in it.
Showing his unwavering love for Ayn Rand, the health secretary questioned why people “go to the state” when they have a health issue and said people “have to take some responsibility” for their health too.
“The state was needed in this pandemic more than anytime in peacetime,” he said. “But government shouldn’t own all risks and responsibilities in life.
“We as citizens have to take some responsibility for our health too. We shouldn’t always go first to the state. What kind of society would that be?
“Health and social care it begins at home. It should be family first, then community, then the state.
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“If you do need support, we live in a compassionate, developed country that can afford to help with that. There are few higher callings than to care for another person.”
Javid was speaking at the Conservative Party conference yesterday. During the speech, the minister also reminisced on his time volunteering in a care home - we hope not shouting at people to get their family to look after them instead - and said that he expected NHS waiting lists to get worse before they get better.
Javid said: “My priorities are simple: Covid, recovery, reform. Covid: getting us, and keeping us, out of the pandemic. Recovery: tackling the huge backlog of appointments it has caused. And reform of our health and social care systems for the long term.
But it was his comments on personal responsibility that stuck out and left people confused.
Labour MP Sarah Jones called his idea “a strange view of the world and the NHS”.
‘Family first, then community, then the state’.
— Sarah Jones MP (@LabourSJ) October 5, 2021
What a strange view of the world and the NHS. Drs, nurses, care workers - they are ‘the state’ but surely they are the thread weaving our communities together. https://t.co/NpiIF4Wo6e
While others similarly slammed the idea, pointing out that it was an odd thing to say after increasing national insurance taxes to pay for healthcare, and that the point of the NHS is to look after ill people:
'Healthcare begins at home' and 'people should turn to family before the NHS' says Sajid Javid.
— Robert Bob 3.5% #FBPE #RejoinEU. #FBPA (@MrRobertBob1) October 5, 2021
Well, I learnt how to paint via YouTube so better start working out how to do hip replacements, do a Cataract op. and repair a Hernia.
Any volunteers....I will need to practice. 😶
My disgust with the Conservative party grows year on year.
— Duncan Jones (@ManMadeMoon) October 6, 2021
They have absolutely no respect for what was bequeathed us by the veterans of WW2 in 1948. A National Health Service free at point of delivery for ALL citizens. To break that trust is fundamentally anti-British. https://t.co/HUQ8gnQAvH
The NHS exists to look after people.
— Dr Julia Grace Patterson💙 (@JujuliaGrace) October 6, 2021
Don’t let the government pass the buck. #ScrapNHSBill https://t.co/71WiYbfCzQ
The problem with ‘family first’ is that it usually means ‘women first’ - and not only do many women prefer to choose their own career, than be given one as a carer, they also have little choice given mortgage structures in this country. https://t.co/Fyw7482n7V
— Laura McInerney (@miss_mcinerney) October 6, 2021
Really odd thing to say after you've just increased NI to pay for health and social care.
— Chairman Moët (@ChairmanMoet) October 5, 2021
So, next time you break your arm or something, get your family to put it in a sling first, then pop round to your neighbours to see if they can help, then if it really can’t be sorted out with an ibuprofen and a rest then we guess you can go to the doctor.
