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Updated January 12th, 2023 at 17:36 IST

UK PM Rishi Sunak faces backlash after admitting he used private healthcare amid NHS row

Labour's Keir, at the House of Commons, slammed the Tories, saying that they had gone from  “clapping nurses to sacking nurses” when Sunak made revelations.

Reported by: Zaini Majeed
Rishi Sunak
IMAGE: AP | Image:self
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British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, on Wednesday, January 11 attracted backlash as he acknowledged that he used private healthcare as he consulted a GP, putting to rest the speculations in the past that he had sought "independent" medical checkups. Sunak acknowledged that he had used private medical assistance instead of the NHS that had lately been in crisis. As he clashed with Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer about the anti-strike legislation for the NHS to cover the minimum costs, Sunak told House of Commons that even as he is registered with an NHS GP, he has "used independent healthcare in the past," according to the British newspaper The Independent.  

Labour's Keir, at the House of Commons, slammed the Tories, saying that they had gone from “clapping nurses to sacking nurses”. His remarks came as the NHS ambulance crews in England and Wales went on strike for the second time in winter, with at least 14 unions announcing that they no longer will operate under the NHS Pay Review Body. Unions are slated to make a new plan submission for the 2023-24 pay award for the NHS. The Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (CSP), announced in a statement that it will also go on strike later this month, which will be followed by nurses' strike for two days over the government's policies. Sunak-led government, meanwhile, warned about the NHS staff strikes saying that they were concerned about the patients and the impact on their health. 

"The NHS staffing crisis is so acute only prompt action on pay - both for this and the next financial year - can start to turn things around. The public knows ambulance response times are worsening and hospital waiting lists growing because the NHS no longer has the necessary staff to meet demand nor provide safe patient care," British Broadcasting Corp reported the chair of 14-strong NHS group of unions, Sara Gorton as saying. 

Sunak, earlier this week, held an emergency meeting with National Health Service (NHS) and care leaders amid the healthcare crisis spiralling worse. NHS Recovery Forum at 10 Downing Street will address key issues including urgent and emergency care, social care and delayed discharge and elective care and primary care, a spokesperson reportedly announced. The meeting will be aimed to “help share knowledge and practical solutions so that we can tackle the most crucial challenges such as delayed discharge and emergency care," the spokesperson was quoted as saying. “As the Prime Minister made clear this week, easing the immediate pressures whilst also focusing on the long-term improvement of the NHS is one of his key promises. We want to correct the unwarranted variation in NHS performance between local areas, because no matter where you live you should be able to access quality healthcare," the official noted. 

Sunak promised 'taking urgent action' on NHS

As Conservative prime minister, Sunak, pledged to push for five major “people’s priorities” during the current parliament of 2023, he stated that he would slash the waiting times in the crisis-ridden National Health Service (NHS). His remarks were directed at the nursing and ambulance staff holding the strikes, questioning the British government's payment schemes that allegedly  “take money away from frontline services and cause further delays to care.”

Sunak assured that his administration was "taking urgent action" to add another 7,000 beds to hospital capacity, along with "future plans for A&E and ambulances." He furthermore added, he has the intention of holding a "reasonable dialogue" with trade unions, as his cabinet "hugely value public sector workers like nurses." “People are understandably anxious when they see ambulances queueing outside hospitals”, Sunak noted, – adding that the NHS was working “urgently” to ramp up the A&E and ambulance services to improve the healthcare for British members of the public.

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Published January 12th, 2023 at 17:36 IST

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