TV doctor brands Hunt ‘disgusting’ over decision to take children to A&E
TV doctor Dr Ranj Singh agrees there is a “humanitarian crisis” in the NHS and said it was “disgusting” that Jeremy Hunt took his children to A&E because he did not want to wait for a GP.
The A&E children’s doctor and medic on ITV’s This Morning was asked by host Phillip Schofield if he agreed with the term “humanitarian crisis” used by the Red Cross last week to describe problems in the NHS and social care.
Dr Singh, who is also presenter and creator of the children’s TV show Get Well Soon, said: “I have to say yes.
“Things are so bad. If you have a situation where people are in pain and waiting and the service is struggling to meet their needs, that is a crisis.”
Dr Singh (pictured) said he believed Health Secretary Mr Hunt’s comments on the state of the NHS were “so out of line” with what was happening on the ground.
“We are really, really struggling,” he said. “It is worse at this time of year than any other time of year.”
He said there was a widespread decrease in performance against the four-hour target to deal with people in A&E within four hours.
And he said Mr Hunt had “moved the goalposts” by suggesting the target was only for urgent cases. He said the target is “for everybody”, adding that it was not fair of the minister to “fudge” the figures.
Dr Singh also recounted how a colleague saw Mr Hunt and his children in A&E when the Health Secretary had bypassed his own GP because he did not want to wait for an appointment.
“I was working in the department at the time,” Dr Singh said. “I did not see his children, a colleague did … but I thought that was disgusting.”
Dr Singh said it was an “awful situation” when he had to tell parents he could not find a bed for their child.
And he said Mr Hunt could join him on a day or night shift so he could see the problems, which included some children waiting three or four hours just to be seen.
Copyright (c) Press Association Ltd. 2017, All Rights Reserved. Picture (c) Jonathan Brady / PA Wire.
