Mr Rishi Sunak told the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme that his healthcare was “a personal choice”.
Nursing union leader Pat Cullen said the PM “needed to come clean as a public servant”.
In response to the same question, shadow health secretary Wes Streeting stated that he does not use private healthcare.
Laura Kuenssberg suggested in the interview that there was a lot of public interest in Mr Sunak’s decisions and that former Conservative Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was open about her decision to use a private GP.
Laura Kuenssberg suggested in the interview that there was a lot of public interest in Mr Sunak’s decisions and that former Conservative Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was open about her decision to use a private GP.
Mr Sunak described healthcare as “private,” adding that he “grew up in an NHS family” with a GP father and a pharmacist mother.
When pressed again, Mr Sunak did not respond, instead saying that “we should be making use of the independent sector” so patients could choose where they received treatment.
When ministers meet with health workers’ leaders for talks on Monday, Rishi Sunak has declined to rule out reopening this year’s pay deal for nurses, signalling for the first time a willingness to address their demands for more money now.
When asked if pay increases for 2022-23 were still possible, the prime minister repeatedly stated that the government was willing to have those conversations with union leaders, despite ministers previously refusing to reopen talks.