Hunt practises his caring face as Tory MPs drop pretence over NHS | John Crace

If the health secretary is worried about the struggles of the NHS then he is putting on a good act of not showing it

In any other year, Jeremy Hunt would be a worried man. But as the government concentrates all its resources on Brexit, no one seems to much mind that the NHS is near enough on its knees. Who cares that hundreds of people may be waiting on trolleys in corridors on the off chance they might get to see a doctor before Christmas, when the cabinet is just now getting round to agreeing that it wants a bespoke trade deal with the EU that exists only in its own fantasies?

Not the health secretary, judging by his chilled-out demeanour at his last departmental questions of the year. If he is bothered then he is putting on a good act of not showing it. He smiles, he flutters his eyelids. The ideal bedside manner of a friendly GP. It’s just a pity he’s chosen Harold Shipman as his role model. Killing the NHS with a lethal cocktail of incompetence and ideology.

Related: With Jeremy Hunt working to save his skin, no NHS boss is safe | Polly Toynbee

Continue reading... December 20, 2017 at 12:00AM