The British Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, refused this Sunday to reveal whether he resorts to private medicine in the midst of a crisis in the public health system in the United Kingdom, which faces long waiting lists, shortages of personnel and resources and strikes over wages and working conditions. .
Sunak insisted that his personal situation “is not relevant” when asked about it by the journalist Laura Kuenssberg on her Sunday program on the BBC public channel.
“My policy is not to talk about my medical situation or that of my family. It is not really relevant, what is relevant is what I can do for the country,” said the conservative leader.
Last November, the newspaper “The Guardian” published that Sunak, whose personal fortune combined with that of his wife is estimated at 730 million pounds (about 827 million euros), is registered with a private doctor from a wealthy neighborhood in the West London, who responds on the spot if there are emergencies.
The Labor opposition has accused the prime minister of not being aware of the impact on citizens of the problems facing the National Health Service (NHS), which, it says, has not received adequate funding for the last thirteen years. of Tory government.
For her part, the general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing, Pat Cullen, a group that is on strike, urged Sunak on the television program “Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg” to “confess” if he has private coverage.
“I think that, as a public official, you must be clear with the public about whether or not you are using private health coverage,” said the union leader.
The head of government met representatives of the health sector in Downing Street on Saturday to discuss the situation and asked them for a “bold and radical” approach to resolve the crisis, according to a government statement.
On Monday, Health Minister Steve Barclay meets the nursing union to discuss “what is affordable for NHS salaries this year”
