Shrewsbury MP Daniel Kawczynski under fire over private health insurance call to help NHS
Shrewsbury MP Daniel Kawczynski has come under fire for suggesting people should take out private healthcare insurance to relieve pressure on the NHS.
In a parliamentary question to Chancellor Philip Hammond, Mr Kawczynski asked if his department would take steps to encourage the uptake of private health insurance to tackle the current issues faced by the NHS.
But doctor and Labour parliamentary candidate for Shrewsbury, Laura Davies who works in Shrewsbury, said it shows a lack of understanding of how the system works on Mr Kawczynski's part.
She said: "His suggestion is a damning indictment of the mess his government are making of the running of the health service. If the Conservatives weren’t systematically destroying our NHS with underfunding and poor management there would be less pressure on it.
"It is a fallacy that private health care relieves pressure on the NHS. They don’t deal with emergency or acute care, which is where the pressure is, and private facilities can be ill-equipped to deal with complications following surgery and the NHS has to pick up the pieces.
"His question shows a complete lack of understanding of how the health system works, and that the Tories are trying to introduce privatisation by the back door."
Mr Kawczynski, who represents Shrewsbury and Atcham, said that in 2014, 20 per cent of health spending was spent by people using private healthcare which amounted to £37.6 billion.
He added: "Much of that saved our NHS from having to spend money in those areas and instead spent it on emergency care where it is most needed.
"Healthcare is such a vitally important issue, people are living longer, the number of available treatments is increasing and getting more expensive but we need to have an adult conversation about how we can help the NHS deliver good quality, free healthcare at the point of use.
"This shouldn’t be about ideology or political mudslinging but about saving lives. I’m pleased that even when you take into account inflation between 2015 and 2020 the government is set to spend an additional £8.8 billion on the NHS in England."
Elizabeth Truss, Chief Secretary to the Treasury, said the government would not intervene in non-compulsory insurance matters.
