Laura Kuenssberg

At the ITV leaders general election debate, Keir Starmer has said he wouldn’t use private healthcare even if he was on a waiting list for surgery

I don’t use private health. I use the NHS that’s where my wife works at one of the big hospitals. It runs through my DNA.

Keir only said this a few weeks ago. So I'd wondered if he was going to stop the use of private facilities. But he's seen sense.

ronib

Private hospitals have been used to provide NHS treatment for patients for some time.

Yes, since before 2010, to clear specific waiting lists - it worked then.
Reckarie they didn’t move patients to waiting rooms elsewhere in the hospitals I worked in? They remained in A&E until an assessment bed was available for Medicine, Surgery and Gynae, Orthopaedics, ENT etc. patients went straight to the wards. If there was an overflow, most often on Sundays, they went to the day units. Patients were never left in corridors or ambulances at that time.

I am getting very tired of hearing everything is being done for the 'working people'. No-one else counts then?

There are very few people in the country who are not now, have been in the past or will be in the future, 'working people'.

The vast majority of us, even those in well paid occupations, need to work to earn our day to day living and save for our old age. The vast majority of us would soon be in trouble were we to be unemployed for more than a few months.

Mollygo

Maremia

Yes argybargy, BREXIT gets forever to sort itself out, but Starmer gets how long?
Also, give LK a break. She is missing Boris.

That’s mean. LK never supported Boris.

I’m sorry but she used to interviewing him with doe’ey eyes. I used to find it sickening.

I'm glad they didn't get moved in your hospital, Casdon, but they did in mine. It was a way of getting round the 4 hour malarkey

As for LK liking Boris, I'd not be surprised. Kay Burley wrote an article about when she met him. She was obviously no fan of the man and thought she'd never change her opinion of him. However I can only assume he's incredibly charismatic in the flesh. Which, I know, sounds ridiculous. But she liked him.

seadragon

Final paragraph of Laura Kerunsberg's article:...
"Given that the Conservatives were in charge for 14 years, it is not just politically convenient for Labour to blame them for the country’s problems, but legitimate - to a great extent. Labour has not yet had 100 days in office, the Conservatives had nearly a decade and a half."

Well said sea dragon!!

*Tony Blair today welcomed 11 private healthcare providers into the "NHS family", as he promised them the chance to gain a stronger foothold in the NHS.

Predicting that the private sector would soon provide up to 40% of NHS operations, Mr Blair said the independent providers could help drive up the quality of service to patients which he said was the "most important thing"*

2006. Blair wanted the NHS to work with the private health care suppliers. It wasn't to shorten any waiting lists

MayBee70
I’m sorry but she used to interviewing him with doe’ey eyes. I used to find it sickening.
In your opinion, to which you are entitled.
We had a different opinion of her reports and interviews, to which we are equally entitled and which are equally true.

www.theguardian.com/society/2006/feb/16/health.politics

Article about Tony Blair and private healthcare. Unions weren't happy.

Rekarie

At the ITV leaders general election debate, Keir Starmer has said he wouldn’t use private healthcare even if he was on a waiting list for surgery.

I don’t use private health. I use the NHS that’s where my wife works at one of the big hospitals. It runs through my DNA.

🤣🤣🤣

That’s a non-statement because he is the PM

Because he is the PM, if Starmer needed a knee replacement he wouldn’t need to wait up to 18 weeks for consultant-led treatments. He would be seen promptly with none of the 18 weeks from the day your appointment is booked through the NHS e-Referral Service, or when the hospital or service receives your referral letter. which causes extra waiting times for many.
You can choose which hospital you want to be treated at, and he is well able to access one with the short/non-existent waiting list.

If he had a prostate problem, he wouldn’t be left over 12 months waiting for treatment and have his operation cancelled 3 times including one where he is lying gowned up and prepped ready for the op because the consultant suddenly decided he wasn’t going to do it.
His access to the NHS is different from that available to most of us and, with all his wealth, he could be seen as taking the space of someone who can’t afford to go privately or juggle the waiting time.