Rishi Sunak laughs at GP joke as heckler says NHS is 'disintegrating'
The prime minister is challenged over his policies during a campaign event in Wiltshire.
Friday 7 June 2024 21:00, UK
Rishi Sunak has laughed at a joke about GPs after a doctor shouted at him over the state of the NHS.
The prime minister was speaking at a rally in Wiltshire on Friday when the woman - understood to be Dr Jane Lees-Millais - began questioning government policies that see patients being sent to other primary care staff, rather than GPs.
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A GP herself, Dr Millais claimed the NHS was "disintegrating", adding: "The country is not stupid. They know when lesser qualified people are being used to conduct consultations which are massively complex."
But when she was then heckled by a man shouting, "most GPs spend more time on holiday than in the surgery, love", Mr Sunak laughed.
The second heckler was heard again, adding: "You can't get an appointment, can you?"
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Responding to the doctor, the prime minister highlighted how his father had been a GP and his mother had been a pharmacist, adding: "My parents dedicated themselves to primary care. I know a thing or two about it."
He said the government was "supporting" GPs, mentioning money being put into new digital telephones, before continuing: "We are also making it easier for people to see other primary care practitioners to get the treatments they need and that's where I will respectfully disagree with you.
"Because I do think it is right that people can now see their pharmacist to get medicines for several common ailments."
A chaotic end to a chaotic day
A chaotic end to a chaotic day for the Tory campaign.
Public engagements can be riAG百家乐在线官网 at the best of times, never mind when you are trailing badly in the polls with four weeks until voting day.
You would have hoped a somewhat closed-off event for Tory members in the safe Wiltshire countryside might have passed off without any bother.
Not so - on what turned into Rishi Sunak鈥檚 worst day of the campaign so far.
As it turned out, the subject being raised by the heckler was quite specific and certainly not a cut and dry dressing down of the broad Tory record on the NHS.
The prime minister's response 鈥� while a little robotic 鈥� was characteristically detailed and fluent.
Yes, at one point he laughed 鈥� but only when another man interrupted to say GPs spent "more time on holiday than in the surgery".
Some in the crowd cheered at Rishi Sunak's response, while others were clearly angry at the attention being sucked up by one lone woman.
The heckler later told reporters she was still a Tory member and had not ruled out voting conservative.
At the end of a torrid day for the prime minister, this was clearly a very unwelcome intervention.
But a frequent refrain from many is that campaigns are too controlled and choreographed and politicians should spend more time interacting with real people.
Well, for better or for worse, that happened today.
The incident comes after a difficult day for the prime minister, who is facing criticism from all sides over leaving D-Day commemorations in France early on Thursday in order to do a TV interview back in the UK.