RISHI Sunak has admitted using private healthcare but insisted he is now registered with an NHS GP.
However the Prime Minister did not say when he registered with an NHS doctor, or whether he was also registered with a private practice.
Nor did he say whether he continues to receive private healthcare.
Mr Sunak made the statement at PMQs after a Labour MP raised NHS dentist shortages and asked the PM how long he had to wait for his last NHS dental appointment.
The question was a dig at Mr Sunak’s repeated refusal to discuss whether he uses private healthcare, fuelling suspicion that he does.
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The Guardian reported in November that Mr Sunak was registered with a private GP practice in West London that charges £250 for a half-hour consultation.
In a Sunday interview with the BBC’s Laura Keunssberg, Mr Sunak refused to say if he used private healthcare amid suggestions he was out of touch with the millions of people waiting for NHS appointments.
He said: “As a general policy I wouldn’t ever talk about me or my family’s healthcare situation.
“But it’s not really relevant, what’s relevant is the difference I can make to the country.”
However at PMQs, Mr Sunak took a different tack.
He said: “I am registered with an NHS GP.
“I have used independent health care in the past.
"I'm also grateful to the Friarage Hospital [in his Richmond seat] for the fantastic care they have given my family over the years.”
Mr Sunak’s father was a GP while his mother ran a pharmacy.
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The Prime Minister said: “I am proud to come from an NHS family and that’s why I’m passionately committed to protecting it with more funding, more doctors and nurses and a clear plan to cut the waiting lists.”
Mr Sunak later clashed with Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer over the state of the NHS, with the Labour leader raising the problems experienced by patients, and Mr Sunak accusing Labour of being more interested in supporting unions and strikers than patients.
Mr Sunak’s comments followed Health Secretary Steve Barclay confirming he used an NHS doctor.
“I don’t subscribe to a sort of GP private thing,” the Cabinet minister told LBC.
Pressed on whether he has NHS care, Mr Barclay replied: “Yes, I don’t subscribe to private provision.
“But I don’t have a problem with people, with their own money, who wish to spend that money on private healthcare.
“I think that is a perfectly reasonable thing for people to want to do.”
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