Rishi Sunak won’t reveal if he uses private healthcare, and people don’t like it

The National Health Service (NHS), backed by taxpayers’ money, provides free medical care to everybody in the United Kingdom. However, it is currently in trouble due to years of comparatively-low investment and the COVID-19 pandemic’s aftermath.

In an interview with Sunak on the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, the interviewer made the claims that former Conservative prime minister Margaret Thatcher was transparent about her decision to use private healthcare.

When Thatcher was prime minister, she was open about how she used private health insurance, claiming that it was essential for her to be able to check herself into the hospital on the day she wanted, at the time she wanted, and with the doctor she wanted.

Kuenssberg told Sunak that there was a great deal of public interest in his choices. Sunak, however, refused to address the issue once again and said it was his “personal choice”.

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Sunak, nevertheless, said that he had grown up “in an NHS family”. He added that his father was a general practitioner and mother a pharmacist. At the same time, he said healthcare was “something that is private”.

Kuenssberg seemed eager not to move on to the next question and asked Sunak again if he used private healthcare. This time, Sunak gave a generic reply and said the independent sector should be used so that patients had the choice to decide where they would get their treatment from.

Kuenssberg predicted a political controversy regarding Sunak’s personal healthcare preferences. A former minister has told the BBC host that Sunak’s lack of openness demonstrates his belief that going private is problematic.

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Sunak may have been registered with a private general practitioner office, according to a news report from November 2022. This office offers same-day consultations and charges £250 for a half-hour session.