Rishi Sunak is under fire for refusing to say whether he uses a private GP
Rishi Sunak has been criticised for refusing to say whether he uses private healthcare, insisting it is “not really relevant” amid a crisis in the NHS.
In an interview with the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg program, the Prime Minister would not disclose whether he has ever been registered with a private GP or is currently using one.
He attempted to deflect the question by pointing out his dad was an NHS doctor and his mother was a pharmacist–saying he grew up in an NHS family.
But when pushed on whether he uses private healthcare, Mr. Sunak said he and his family’s healthcare situation is a private matter and irrelevant.
“As a general policy I wouldn’t ever talk about me or my family’s healthcare situation,” he said. “But it’s not really relevant, what’s relevant is the difference I can make to the country.”
Ms. Kuenssberg dismissed this and said there is a huge public interest in the decisions he made and said there is a precedent for a Prime Minister admitting to using private healthcare.
Former Tory PM Margaret Thatcher was unapologetic and open about her decision to use a private GP.
When asked if she uses the NHS during the general election campaign of 1987, she said: “I, along with something like five million other people, ensure to enable me to go into hospital on the day I want, at the time I want and with a doctor I want,” she said. “For me, that is absolutely vital… Like most people, I pay my dues to the National Health Service, [but] I do not add to the queue… I exercise my right as a free citizen to spend my own money in my own way…”
Mr. Sunak’s decision not to be open about whether he pays for healthcare has led to accusations that the multi-millionaire is not being honest or transparent.
Pat Mullen, General Secretary of the Royal College of Nursing, urged the PM to “come clean” about whether he uses private healthcare or not.
“I think as a public servant you ought to tone blear with the public whether you are using private health cover,” she said during a panel discussion on the same program.
“That is about being open, it is about being transparent and it is about being honest and those are characteristics… that seem to be missing at the minute.
“I think he needed to come clean as a public servant. He’s elected by the public so he is accountable to the public and when you are accountable to the public, you need to be honest with them.”
Andy Haldane, former Bank of England chief economics and leveling up tsar, agreed and said: “I think there is a case for people coming clean and being clear about that [using private healthcare].”
In November it was first reported that Mr. Sunak was registered with a private GP practice in west London that guarantees all patients with urgent concerns about their health will be seen on the day.
The clinic charges £250 for a half-hour consultation and offers appointments in the evenings and at weekends–something the majority of NHS surgeries do not offer to patients.
The PM has repeatedly avoided the question of whether he uses private healthcare since.
