Sir Rod Stewart calls Sky News to say ‘give Labour a go’ and offers to pay for hospital scans amid NHS crisis
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Rod Stewart has offered to pay for people’s hospital scans as the NHS continues to bear the brunt of a waiting list crisis. The singer made an unscheduled appearance on Sky News when he called in on Thursday (January 26).
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The long-time supporter of the Conservative Party also went on a rant calling for the UK population to vote in Labour at the next general election. The 78-year-old rock star has said he has never seen the situation “so bad” in the country and wants to “change the bloody government”.
Stewart, who was watching the Sky News phone-in segment, Your Say, while he built a model railway at his home, felt compelled to make his opinion known after hearing the horror stories of those trying to access healthcare. He talked about how “ridiculous” the situation is, explaining that his private healthcare clinic is “empty”.
He told Sky News: “I would like to pay for 10 or 20 scans, or however much it takes. I don’t know how we’re (going to) work this out and, hopefully, some other people will follow, because it seems ridiculous that this particular scanning clinic was empty.
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“There are people dying because they cannot get scans. I don’t need the publicity. I just want to do some good things and this, I think, it’s a good thing, because if other people follow me, I’d love it”.
NHS workers such as ambulance drivers and nurses have taken industrial action in recent months in disputes over pay, patient safety and working conditions. More are planned in the coming weeks.
Rod Stewart went on to call for the National Healthcare Service to be totally “rebuilt” with “billions” of pounds of backing.
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He continued: “I personally have been a Tory for a long time but I think this government should stand out now and give the Labour party a go at it, because this is heartbreaking for the nurses. It really is heartbreaking. In all my years of living in this country, I’ve never seen it so bad and anything I could do to help…poor nurses, I’m on your side.
“This is a bad time for us in Great Britain, it really is. Change the bloody government ... It’s just terribly sad. I’m so proud to be British and I can’t stand it being this way.”
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