Barclay declares he uses the NHS after PM refuses to say whether he goes private
The Health Secretary defended those choosing to go private for healthcare but said he was not among them.
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Your support makes all the difference.Health Secretary Steve Barclay said he does not use private healthcare and is treated on the NHS.
It comes after his boss, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, refused to say whether he or his family has private healthcare provision.
Mr Sunak repeatedly declined during an interview with the BBC on Sunday to say whether he pays to skip NHS queues to see a doctor.
It has previously been reported that the Prime Minister is registered with a private GP practice in west London that guarantees patients with urgent concerns will be seen “on the day”.
I don’t subscribe to private provision
Mr Barclay defended those choosing to go private but said he was not among them.
“I don’t subscribe to a sort of GP private thing,” the Cabinet minister told LBC.
Pressed on whether he has NHS care, Mr Barclay replied: “Yes, I don’t subscribe to private provision.
“But I don’t have a problem with people, with their own money, who wish to spend that money on private healthcare.
“I think that is a perfectly reasonable thing for people to want to do.”
The Cabinet minister’s declaration could see more pressure put on Mr Sunak to state whether he or his family use private care.
The Royal College of Nursing has urged him to “come clean” while Labour has said Mr Sunak gives the impression of being a leader who “not only doesn’t use the NHS but doesn’t understand the scale of the challenges”.
The Prime Minister has spoken about his desire to cut NHS waiting lists but has been reluctant to address about whether he uses the strained service.
His stance is unlike Conservative former prime minister Margaret Thatcher, who spoke of exercising her “right as a free citizen to spend my own money in my own way” to seek private care.
Speaking to BBC One’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme: “As a general policy I wouldn’t ever talk about me or my family’s healthcare situation.
“But it’s not really relevant, what’s relevant is the difference I can make to the country.”
Mr Barclay admitted to broadcasters on Wednesday that the NHS is under pressure as it battles Covid backlogs, complicated hospital discharge arrangements and a particularly bad flu season.