To think Rishi has made it clear he has private health provision

[Kinnorafron]

After 13 years of Tory destruction of the health service I can see why - but what about people who can't afford it?

no it’s not full cover It’s does not cover ongoing health issues from before I signed up though after (I think) two years you can use the cover for new issues that may arise from ongoing health issue, covers access to video call with GP’s. If I prefer to see GP in person it’s an extra £25

covers tests/treatment which I had within a week and referral to relevant doctor

Should I need to see a consultant that’s £250 extra which I have not had to use

Sorry it’s £54pm not £50 that’s for myself for ds another £35 (but now he is under his dads work Insurane)

plus other benefits which I really should use

so the cost of what two take aways or a hair cut I know not everyone can afford this but it’s been well worth it.

ive got an ear infection at the moment appointment made same day (Saturday) and collected my medication later. I struggle to get an appointment with my GP even before covid at one point they were not making any appointments at all just emergency appointments

The sort of private healthcare he will be able to access will be different to that people with health insurance can get.

I don't know why everyone keeps asking such an obvious question but as they do he should not be so invasive - it's not like he doesn't like to mention his family connection to the NHS.

I’m not sure the question was worth the amount of dodging he put into it. He would have done better to simply state yes or know than present himself as evasive and shady for avoiding a question that pretty much everyone else can simply say yes or no for.

Because the majority of consultants aren’t about to offer the time dedicated to private to the NHS if private didn’t exist. The government have screwed then over with pay and pensions so it’s not worth their time

But is it normal for the PM in the U.K. to use the local GP?

Do you expect they queue up at 8am and wait with everyone else?

He's a very wealthy man with a young family and a busy job. To complain about him paying for something that many many families also pay for is a bit bonkers

It’s bonkers for him to not own it when it’s obvious.

If there was an acceptable level of service provided by the NHS it would be a non-story but it’s in absolute crisis so it is relevant whether the people in charge recognise that and their stance in context of their experience and the majority of the publics experience. If RS thinks private access is the answer then surely he has a responsibility to recommend that to the population rather than make empty promises he’s not fully convinced of personally.

2 nearest NHS GPs to Downing Street aren't even accepting new patients.
How far did you guys want him to travel to get an NHS GP ?

Given healthcare is where it is in the U.K., I'd consider it downright irresponsible of a PM to not buy private healthcare.

We have it and we are not wealthy. I'd say we are relatively comfortable.

And we have full cover. It's £175 a month so not cheap but worth it

I agree with you but also this status people give the NHS is strange. I use it and am generally happy with it to the point I usually don’t bother with the private cover I have. It’s really bad journalism for an easy headline.

Yes - this.

Private health insurance is pretty expensive in the U.K. and in most cases not that comprehensive. For example, I have never come across a standard policy that covers GP appointments or anything relating to antenatal care or childbirth.

It's logical that rich people will use some of their extra money pay for better services. Who wouldn't ?!
Wealthy people will send their kids to private schools (smaller classes, better facilities etc) and use private health care (quicker treatment, longer appointments etc).

Rishi Sunak is very rich, and was I'm sure using private healthcare long before any of us had even heard of him.

I think the reason he was cagey about it in the interview was because it always makes politicians less credible if they admit to not using state services. They're claiming to care about the state of the NHS and schools, but the natural assumption is that they don't really care, because it doesn't affect them. So they come across as pompous hypocrites , patronising us poor plebs who are dependent on the NHS, while they're sitting pretty in a Harley Street clinic!

That said, I think it's reasonable for people in his position to use private health care. It would be completely impossible for the PM to sit in a waiting room full of people to have his piles checked or whatever. He'd be hounded and pestered. And much as I dislike most politicians, they are entitled to the same medical privacy as the rest of us.

no it won't be.

This.

I would be very surprised to hear that the PM was having to take whatever appointment was available and cancel his visit to the UN or something because of he misses it he'll not be able to get his repeat prescription issued...it's not a good use of his time to be subject to the vagaries of the system, plus there would always be an issue over confidentiality, privacy and security. It's not exactly mind blowing to realise there are arrangements for wealthy leaders.

What matters though is that he recognises this is not either available to the vast vast majority of the population, nor it it something most people want nor that best evidence suggests is a good option. We need him to commit politically to ensuring that the UK population has access to good quality, available, accessible health care. We need him to recognise and acknowledge the absolute crisis were in and vow to correct it. Millions of people have no preventative dental care, no timely access to a GP, no guarantee of a timely ambulance response if in an emergency and a high chance of seriously long waits for any surgery or treatment even if it's required urgent or necessary to preserve function and employability by their consultant.

These are the points that should be put to him. Not intense interest in the practical arrnagements he has, which are kind of common sense and obvious when you think about them.

He says that we should give equal consideration to independent providers and bolster the private health sector. But we know that evidence shows that if you are involved in a serious trauma - then going to a specialist centre is the better route to survival. If you have a heart attack or a head injury or a stroke or complex diabetes then the best care and outcomes are achieved in tertiary centres of excellence where the staff are experts, regularly caring for those conditions. The evidence does not exist for everyone going to nicely decorated small clinics with thick pile carpet and a coffee machine.....as you are more likely to be cared for by someone with no recent training or experience in that articular condition. You couldn't pay me to have an anaesthetic somewhere discrete and private by someone who is no longer employed by the NHS and only works a quarter of the year. That's not better care, it's dangerous.

So what? I have private healthcare too

That said, I think it's reasonable for people in his position to use private health care. It would be completely impossible for the PM to sit in a waiting room full of people to have his piles checked or whatever. He'd be hounded and pestered. And much as I dislike most politicians, they are entitled to the same medical privacy as the rest of us.

Exactly, this is why it’s all so silly

I see no problem with him having private healthcare and I can’t stand the man. The issue isn’t that he can afford private healthcare,the issue is that the state healthcare system is underfunded and isn’t fit for use.

I’d say the same if it was about his kids having private education. It’s not about some people having access to the luxury end of something, it’s that the state version is broken and needs attention and fixing.

As for employers offering cover - that's not altruistic or benevolent is it? They need to jump the queues too if you are ill so you can get back to work and cost as little as possible in sick pay.

Yes, and that's exactly why the PM should have it too - so he can get back to his job of trying to fix the NHS for the rest of us as quickly as possible.

It's why parents have to put on their oxygen masks before their children's on a plane - otherwise everyone is fucked.

The only people I know without private healthcare are a couple of NHS consultants who have private appointments anyway as they all help their mates out, they don't wait on waiting lists.

It's pretty standard for most private sector jobs in mid sized, and even some small companies, to offer private healthcare. I am no longer on a company scheme but pay £250 a month for 4 of us. Obviously that's a fair whack but it includes unlimited out patients and physio etc, every hospital in the country including central london hospitals, unlimited cancer treatment, GP, online mental health services. etc etc. I could reduce it but it's important to me we have no limitations.

I'd be amazed, with his wealth, if he didn't have it. But, I suppose he couldn't win with it - admitting using private care would create criticism, but if he said he only used the NHS, then some would have said he was using valuable resources when he could afford to fund his own healthcare.😗

He can't say he uses private health care because he can't acknowledge the ongoing crisis in healthcare.

This. It would have been better to just answer the question. And it would be irrelevant if he was trying to fix the current healthcare crisis. But they are doing absolutely fuck all so the fact that his family don’t need to use the system that has collapsed and it looks like he’s trying to hide it.

You’s expect him to have private healthcare so it is odd that he wouldn’t answer the question.

I have private healthcare too (not a multi-millionaire and it is part of my employment benefits). I would lose it when switching jobs, new job apparently also has private healthcare provision too (but we have to pay for blood tests). But I am not in politics.

Cameron understood that as a politician you have to be seen to be supportive of and personally invested in the state system.Which is why he sent his daughter to a state school (it is Grey Coat and you have to be living in Westminster/CofE to attend and have a lot more to spend on property than most people). But it was still a state school. Boris made a big show of using the NHS when he had covid. If he doesn't want questions about what kind of healthcare he uses, he should have stayed in investment banking. When you are a politician, such questions are fair game. I don't think people would have cared what kind of healthcare he used if the NHS wasn't in total crisis though so your job as a politician is to keep things running smoothly so that people don't feel that such private matters are of much interest.

Agree with this 100%

I find the endless posts that private healthcare/education should not exist extremely ignorant. Those who have money will always find a way to access a better and more luxurious version of something the rest of us use.

However, we all pay substantial taxes to fund good public services which the government seem to be intent on pissing up the wall then crying there’s nothing left when services are falling apart. That’s not ok and his utter ignorance to what the general public are dealing with infuriates me

My understanding from doctors I know is that they do certain number of private clinics a week. These will be set times so if they don't have any private patients at that time they won't suddenly be able to see NHS patients instead. You might as well make sure that their contracted private patient hours are full of patients. The issue is likely to be that if too many people get private medical insurance wait times will increase for private patients. I don't think NHS consultants who do private work can easily increase their private hours (although maybe they can in the evenings).