Rishi Sunak has refused to say whether he uses private healthcare, insisting it is “not really relevant”. The Prime Minister was being interviewed about the NHS on BBC's Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme.
In an interview recorded on Saturday, the Prime Minister refused to say whether he uses the NHS as Britons struggle with long waiting lists to see GPs and receive treatment. He said: “As a general policy I wouldn’t ever talk about me or my family’s healthcare situation. But it’s not really relevant, what’s relevant is the difference I can make to the country.”
It comes amid huge strain on the NHS which has seen nurses and ambulance workers walk out in a row over pay and conditions. While Mr Sunak agreed the NHS is "undeniably under enormous pressure", he declined to describe it as being in crisis, despite Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer warning the health service is not just on its knees but “on its face”..
Asked if the NHS was ‘in crisis’ by Laura Kuenssberg, the PM said: “The NHS is undeniably under enormous pressure and I’ve spent today talking to NHS leaders, all day in fact.”
He added: “Recovering from Covid is going to be tough and we’re seeing that play out on our TV screens every day and in communities up and down the country, but actually I came away from all my meetings today with a renewed sense of confidence and optimism that we can get to grips with this problem.”
The Prime Minister indicated talks with health unions will focus on the pay settlement for the upcoming financial year rather than demands for negotiations on the current deal. He said: “When it comes to pay we’ve always said we want to talk about things that are reasonable, that are affordable and responsible for the country.”
He said Monday’s meeting between Health Secretary Steve Barclay and unions is “really important” but he indicated only the next financial year’s pay is up for discussion. “We are about to start a new pay settlement round for this year, we’re about to start that independent process, and before that process starts the Government is keen to sit down with the unions and talk about pay and make sure they understand where we’re coming from,” he said.
Asked again if he thought the health service issues were ‘a crisis’, Mr Sunak replied: “Well, as I said, the NHS is under pressure.”
He added: “I think what matters more than words is action, and here are the actions: three weeks after I became Prime Minister in the autumn statement at a time of difficulty elsewhere, billions of extra pounds for the NHS and social care and then the next thing is: what difference is that going to make? And that’s the question people should be asking, that’s what I want to be held account for.
“So yes, there are unacceptable delays right now happening in ambulances and A&Es, but if you look at it, we’ve got actually a relatively small number of trusts – around 10% of trusts that account for over half of all the ambulance handover delays.”
Royal College of Nursing (RCN) general secretary Pat Cullen said she had a “chink of optimism” that future nursing strikes could be averted after noticing a “little shift” in the Prime Minister’s stance on Sunday. Ms Cullen will be among the union leaders meeting Steve Barclay for talks on Monday, but the Health Secretary wants to focus negotiations on a new pay deal for 2023/24.
The RCN head has urged ministers to meet nurses halfway on their pay rise demands for the current financial year and will strike in England on January 18 and 19 without a breakthrough. Ms Cullen told Mr Sunak to “grasp the nettle, come to the table” as she indicated cautious hopes for resolving the long-running dispute.
She told the BBC: “When I listened to that there was a chink of optimism and there was a little shift in what the Prime Minister was saying.”
However, she added of his comments: “This is not about negotiations tomorrow, it’s not about nurses’ pay and it’s not addressing the issues that are our dispute and that is addressing pay in 2022/23.”
