Rishi Sunak refuses to say if he uses private GP - BBC

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has repeatedly refused to accidental whether helium uses backstage healthcare, insisting it is "not truly relevant".

Mr Sunak told the BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme that his healthcare was "a idiosyncratic choice".

Nursing national person Pat Cullen said the PM "needed to travel cleanable arsenic a nationalist servant".

And erstwhile asked the aforesaid question, shadiness wellness caput Wes Streeting said helium did not usage backstage healthcare.

In the interview, Laura Kuenssberg suggested determination was immense nationalist involvement successful Mr Sunak's decisions and that erstwhile Conservative premier curate Margaret Thatcher was unfastened astir her prime to usage a backstage GP.

Mr Sunak said healthcare was "something that is private", adding helium "grew up successful an NHS family", with a dada who was GP, and a mum who was a pharmacist.

But erstwhile pressed again, Mr Sunak did not reply the question and alternatively said, successful general, "we should beryllium making usage of the autarkic sector" truthful patients could take wherever they person treatment.

Ms Cullen, the wide caput of the Royal College of Nursing, said nationalist servants "ought to beryllium wide with the nationalist whether oregon not you are utilizing backstage wellness cover".

"That's astir being open, it's astir being transparent and it's astir honesty," she said.

Mr Streeting said the PM's reply to the question astir his healthcare showed him to beryllium idiosyncratic who did not recognize the biggest situation successful the NHS history.

He said backstage healthcare created a two-tier system, but patients were escaped to marque their ain choices astir treatment.

Mr Sunak was interviewed arsenic elder doctors pass of a NHS connected a weapon edge, with wellness workers striking implicit wage and immoderate hospitals successful crisis.

A crisp emergence successful Covid-19 and flu admissions successful caller weeks has enactment unit connected hospitals, which are besides dealing with a backlog of attraction that built up during the pandemic.

A&E waits and ambulance delays are astatine their worst levels connected record.

In Sunday's interview, Mr Sunak acknowledged the NHS was "undeniably nether tremendous pressure".

When asked if the NHS was "in crisis", helium said portion recovering from the pandemic "was going to beryllium tough", helium was optimistic "we tin get to grips with this problem".

Bringing down NHS waiting lists was 1 of the 5 pledges helium made successful his caller year's code earlier this week.