UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak consistently refused to mention details about his healthcare insurance providers, asserting that ‘it was not important.’
In an interview on BBC with Laura Kuenssberg, PM Rishi Sunak faced questions on education and health policies. She claimed that former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher did not hide her decision to use private healthcare.
Kuenssberg stated that Thatcher was transparent about her use of medical insurance, claiming that she needed to get admitted whenever and wherever she wished. However, when the interviewer asked PM Sunak about his health insurance, he said, “it’s a personal choice.”
However, many healthcare workers like Pat Cullen, head of the nursing union, have raised concerns about it. She said it’s ‘important’ that the PM clarifies it because he is a public servant.
The National Health Service (NHS) provides free medical care to all citizens of the United Kingdom. Backed up by taxpayers’ money, the healthcare body is in trouble due to the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic and several years of low investments.
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Nevertheless, the Sunak mentioned that he was brought up in an NHS family, adding that his father was a general practitioner and his mother was a pharmacist.
An eager Kuenssberg did not move to the next question for a long time, but Sunak dusted the question each time. He revealed that his insurance was private, but it was his personal choice. Patients must have the right to choose where they get their treatment, said Sunak.
Sunak’s interview with Kuenssberg has sparked a controversy about his healthcare options. Sunak might have registered with a private general practitioner’s office providing same-day consultations and charges £250 for a half-hour session.
(With inputs from agencies)
