Laura Kuenssberg

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.

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

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

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.

*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

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!!

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

Well aware. Worked there long enough. Tony Blair's baby.

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

Could I just point out that the 4 hour wait in A&E wasn't quite what it seemed. We just used to move patients to another waiting room.

NHS is pretty much doomed . Impossible for it to work. At least Keir is open to using private facilities.

Mollygo

MaizieD

Go read about the state the LP left the NHS in, and that was with fewer people.
I wouldn’t have wanted Tories back in and didn’t vote to try and achieve that. I didn’t endorse everything they did, but that doesn’t mean I have to be protective of the LP. I don’t understand why that defend the LP from any criticism attitude seems to be so prevalent on here.

That is nonsense. The NHS was in a far more robust state in 2010 that it is now. Estate, facilities, waiting times, access to emergency care, mental health services have all deteriorated very significantly.
www.kingsfund.org.uk/insight-and-analysis/reports/rise-and-decline-nhs-in-england-2000-20#:~:text=Multi%2Dyear%20funding%20increases%20and,and%20neglect%20of%20workforce%20planning.
Of course, nobody is ever happy that the NHS is meeting all the targets, so comparative measurement is the only way of tracking.

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."

I think that you and I live in parallel universes, Mollygo

I wonder if you'd like prisoners being released early if you'd been attacked by one of these men. And they will be mostly men.

Also, the removal of 90 hereditary peers is not going to make any difference to any of us .

argymargy

Wow, we’re a couple of months in to a new government and shock horror it hasn’t fixed everything yet!!

Well we’re 8 years into Brexit but we must give it time….

I so agree argymargy, this gov't have had long. I love some of the things they're doing though, reforming the House of Lords, water company bosses in prison if they pay shareholders without fixing the infrastructure, I also like prisoners coming out early cos prison does nothing to stop reoffending & I think community based rehabilitation is better.
I think with the winter fuel allowance they should have just stopped it to higher rate taxpayers, I don't mind loosing mine especially if I can have a better NHS, thats a bargain

I always watch the Laura K show on a Sunday morning and think she's very good, so pleased she made the comment re almost half of the so called black hole results from pay rises labour awarded since coming to power.
Starmer and Reeve's comments re helping the 'working people' worry me as I think, so far, it seems to exclude pensioners who have probably worked all their lives.

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.

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

Mollygo

MaizieD

Go read about the state the LP left the NHS in, and that was with fewer people.
I wouldn’t have wanted Tories back in and didn’t vote to try and achieve that. I didn’t endorse everything they did, but that doesn’t mean I have to be protective of the LP. I don’t understand why that defend the LP from any criticism attitude seems to be so prevalent on here.

The problem with the NHS is we all want everything we want instantly and we are not prepared to pay for it, the demand is unlimited.

Unless there is some kind of rationing the NHS will NEVER meet demand

Don’t worry Mollygo the unions will sort out this mess. We’re completely helpless on social media - it’s all a game really.

MaizieD

Go read about the state the LP left the NHS in, and that was with fewer people.
I wouldn’t have wanted Tories back in and didn’t vote to try and achieve that. I didn’t endorse everything they did, but that doesn’t mean I have to be protective of the LP. I don’t understand why that defend the LP from any criticism attitude seems to be so prevalent on here.