United States President Donald Trump criticized the NHS on Twitter on Monday. “The Democrats are pushing for Universal HealthCare while thousands of people are marching in the UK because their U system is going broke and not working. Dems want to raise taxes for really bad and non-personal medical care. No thanks!” he tweeted.
The comments from Trump were rebutted by doctors and nurses in the UK. Theresa May told Trump that she is proud of the NHS. NHS funding is at record highs and was rated the best healthcare in the world for the second time, according to a Commonwealth Fund international survey.
Jeremy Corbyn, the Labour leader, claims Trump is wrong about the NHS and cites people protesting to keep the NHS alive.
Thousands of Britons took to London in a demonstration over the weekend, calling for an increase in the NHS’ budget. Demonstrators were holding signs with quotes such as “Keep your hands off our NHS” and “Saving lives costs money. Saving money costs lives.”
Protestors are calling for government change that will properly fund the NHS, which is releasing people early from hospitals in some cases. Underfunding is reportedly threatening the system that Britons love. Referring the 40,000 nursing vacancies in the UK, Royal College of Nurses president Cecilia Anim said, “I’ve never in my 40 years in nursing seen anything like this.”
Protestors fear that the United Kingdom’s healthcare system could turn into a US-style system.
The government approved £437 million in funding during the winter when the NHS was extremely stressed. An additional £2.8 billion has been allocated to the NHS over the next two years to help properly fund the NHS.
Doctors and nurses are fighting back against Trump, with medics claiming they’re proud to have one of the best healthcare systems in the world. The group claims that in the United States, you have to have expensive insurance or have large amounts of debt to have life-saving care. NHS care is free, universal healthcare that provides citizens with medical care when they need it most.
Trump’s criticism comes after Nigel Farage spoke on Fox News.
One nurse commented that even if the NHS isn’t perfect, it offers some of the world’s best healthcare no matter how much money a person has. “Don’t comment on what you haven’t experienced,” Natasha White comments.
Twitter users from the United Kingdom came out in droves against Trump’s comments. Many called him ignorant and racist. Others came out to tell their story about the NHS saving their lives. Anna Wakefield was treated by the NHS when she had stage 4 cervical cancer. She didn’t pay a dime for the care she received and is now three years in remission. She asks if anyone in the United States can say the same thing.
“Shame on you Trump,” comments another user.
Trump has been known to criticize the United Kingdom on Twitter. Last year he mocked their record on terrorism after retweeting anti-Muslim propaganda. The latest tweet comes as a surprise following the Davos meeting where Trump and May claim that they patched up their relationship.
Trump has plans to visit the UK in July, with news outlets expecting large-scale protests.
