Who could ignore the arrival of the 45th president of the United States to the UK, Donald Trump, who announced during a press conference with Theresa May that the National Health Service would be placed firmly “on the table” in any UK-US trade deal talks.

Could the NHS be a pawn in a trade deal?

It has been speculated that the fanfare that met Trump during his state visit was an attempt to curry favour with the president, who the UK government would need onside to secure a trade deal after leaving the EU.

At a press call with the prime minister, Trump replied to a journalist who asked if the NHS would be part of any future trade deal negotiations.

“When you’re dealing in trade, everything is on the table,” Trump said. Adding: “So the NHS or anything else, or a lot more than that.”

Some say Britain crashing out of the EU is in the president’s best interest – then he could manoeuvre a weakened UK into a transatlantic deal to America’s benefit.

But later, Trump backtracked on his comments on the NHS during an interview with Good Morning Britain’s Piers Morgan saying: “I don’t see it being on the table”

READ MORE: Donald Trump told NHS 'not for sale'

What does Nigel Farage have to do with it?

Trump met with Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage during his three-day trip, telling the press that the English politician was better prepared to take on post-Brexit Britain than Theresa May – suggesting he’s not as up on British politics as he might have us believe, seeing as the current PM is on her way out the door.

Commentators suggest that Trump and Farage are of one mind regarding the NHS and would like to see it opened up further to private providers.

However, the NHS has a special place in the British consciousness and for many voters is more than just a free-at-the-point of use healthcare system, but rather it is an emblem of British society.

Social media user James Melville shared a grainy video of Farage recently proselytising on the benefits of carving up the NHS and replacing it with an insurance-based system.

It’s been claimed that Farage’s return to politics has been funded by insurance tycoon Aaron Banks who forked out more than £450,000 in 2017 to further Farage’s cause.

Banks is currently under investigation by the National Crime Agency over allegations of criminal offences by him and his unofficial leave campaign in the EU referendum, which he denies.

Farage has stated that millionaire Banks is not funding the Brexit Party.

Is the NHS entirely publicly funded?

While the NHS is funded mostly from  tax and national insurance contributions, companies in the private sector still have stakes, and some of those are American.

The Independent ran a story last week that revealed an anti-NHS think tank is being funded by a powerful tobacco group, British American Tobacco. The Institute of Economic Affairs has criticised the NHS over its approach to public health treatment.

According to reports, last year the American private healthcare provider Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) won a £2m NHS Scotland contract as a “quality improvement partner”.

The deal was criticised by politicians who objected to a “lack of transparency” after Nicola Sturgeon allegedly hosted a dinner for the bosses of IHI a few weeks prior to the deal being struck.

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It is reported to be the second contract awarded to the Boston-based company, which is estimated to have made millions over a 10-year working relationship with NHS Scotland.

The Express newspaper reported that Sturgeon had been accused of hypocrisy after she tweeted that the NHS “is not and must never be ‘on the table’ in a trade negotiation with President Trump”.

In response, an SNP spokesperson said: “The not-for-profit Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) is a global leader in advising on how to improve patient safety. They do not provide any health services or treat patients.”

Could the NHS be privatised?

Some people think so but implementing charges for a service that is currently free would see any supporters facing a major backlash – especially political parties.

Any trade deals being hashed out could take years and would usually include clauses that prevented US companies and government from interfering in the running of domestic services.

Even though Trump publicly backtracked, there remains concern over what exactly any future trade negotiations with the US could mean for the NHS.