Wes Streeting makes me think of a really hungover bloke who passed out drunk the night before only to wake up and remember what he actuall said.
But instead of having “the fear” in the pit of his stomach, I think the Health Secretary really does believe what he says.
Sadly for the country, what he says increasingly makes me think he doesn’t understand anything about healthcare.
Instead of doing any work to fix issues in the NHS, he seems more content with grabbing headlines while alienating medics who are key to the country’s health.
He should be focused on ensuring funds are available to repair dilapidated hospitals and have a proper plan to tackle waiting lists.
Instead, he has seen fit to open his mouth and, in a recent interview, proclaim that the minority of GP practices “are coasting at the expense of those who are striving hard”.
I would never say that all GP surgeries are perfect, with the frustration of not being able to secure an appointment after calling up bang-on 8am a bugbear across the UK, but I would say it seems Wes Streeting has no knowledge of just how hard doctors work.
It appears that, like many people, he thinks that if they don’t have a patient in front of them, they aren’t working.
Does he think being a doctor is the medical version of working on the tills at Sainsbury’s?
It definitely seems like he does, which is deeply worrying for someone who is supposed to be in charge of the nation’s healthcare.
While Wes will be aware that most GPs have surgeries in the morning and then in the afternoon, he doesn’t seem to realise that in the gap, they are doing everything they can to keep their patients alive.
I recently attended an inquest that followed a similar pattern to almost every one I’ve been to in my almost 20 years as a journalist. The evidence revealed how the GP had tried everything she could to get mental health support for her patient, but the services that could help let him and her down.
And, while the Government talks about reducing waiting lists, Wes and his left-wing chums need to realise there are thousands of people out there who are in a similar position to one I was in a few years ago. Back then, I was told I was too ill for one service and not ill enough for another. Without the support of my GP, I would have fallen through the gaps.
If Wes Streeting is serious about his proposals, announced last autumn, to shift the focus of healthcare from hospital to the community, then he needs to understand what GPs actually do. As a cancer patient myself, I appreciate that I have had a lot more exposure than most to the inner workings of our NHS. But Mr Streeting really must get a grip of the issues it faces.
He needs to focus on ensuring there aren’t any gaps in the NHS so GPs don’t have to spend their time covering for services that aren’t there.
In his interview with Health Service Journal there is a hint he recognises that some GPs are working really long hours. He says he is concerned that some are toiling away at one or two in the morning.
This is a concern of mine too. In my pre-cancer days, when I used to drink alcohol, I’d occasionally walk past my doctor’s on the way to buy lagers from the corner shop. More often than not there would be a light on in one of the GP’s rooms as they tried to finish everything.
Surely it is the Health Secretary’s job to solve this issue.
Part of the solution is to stop hospital doctors from giving GPs “homework,” like instructing them to book tests or prescribe medication that they could have and should have done themselves.
The other part is for GP surgeries to be given the funding and staff they need to support all their patients while also allowing them to go home to their families at a reasonable hour.
I’m sure there are lots of GPs who would be happy for him to shadow them for the day so he can learn that, instead of incendiary headlines, GP practices need is support from him so they can be the best they can be.