Labour’s public consultation on how to improve the NHS has failed spectacularly just hours after it was launched this morning.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting wants to hear from patients and staff about the future of the health service over the next ten years.
However, the online consultation website, which immediately publishes all answers, has seen Brits flood the site with not-so-serious suggestions, including Tony Blair as health chief and extending the right to free healthcare to all pets.
One even called for “mandatory euthanasia to fill hospital beds” to “think about savings.”
Another urged the health service to rent out empty seats in cinemas “so people can watch a film while waiting to be seen”.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting wants to hear from patients and staff about the future of the health service over the next ten years.
However, the online consultation website, which immediately publishes all answers, has seen Brits flood the site with not-so-serious suggestions, including “mandatory euthanasia” and free movie tickets on the NHS.
A third anonymous response even controversially claimed that the NHS should impose a maximum BMI for all nurses.
Announcing the inquiry, Sir Keir Starmer said: ‘My mother worked for the NHS, my sister worked for the NHS and my wife still works for the NHS.
‘So I know first-hand how difficult it has been for staff and patients to fight a broken system for over a decade. But it’s time to roll up our sleeves and fix it.”
Meanwhile, Streeting said: “When I was diagnosed with kidney cancer, the NHS saved my life, as it has for so many people across our country.”
‘We all owe a debt of gratitude to the NHS for a time in our lives when it was there for us, when we needed it. “Now we have the opportunity to pay that debt.”
But among the thousands of proposals presented today is an ‘idea of euthanasia’.
The anonymous respondent wrote: ‘I think this would go very well with Wes Streeting’s “Ozempic for Fatties” strategy.
‘In fact, what if the options were 1) take the Ozempic or 2) get “help along the way” to free up valuable NHS resources and save our beloved key workers?
Other suggestions published online today also called for Tony Blair to be chief health officer and for the right to free healthcare to be extended to all pets.
“There is simply no money to allow fat people and other selfish people to occupy hospital beds.”
Last week, Streeting revealed that the government wants to use the jabs to boost the economy and get unemployed obese people back to work.
Weight-related illnesses cost the economy £74 billion a year, and overweight people are at higher risk of heart disease, cancer and type 2 diabetes.
Two in three Britons are classed as overweight or obese and NHS figures show people now weigh around a stone than they did more than 30 years ago.
Another urged the NHS to consider “renting out empty seats in cinemas” to help Brits’ mental health.
They said: ‘Cinemas need a boost, often empty after pandemic. We need hospital beds. People like movies. “People have mental health problems.”
Meanwhile, a third response controversially called for a “maximum BMI for nurses.”
And they added: “They should lead by example.”
One user also called for Sir Tony Blair to be named head of NHS England and Alan Milburn (former health secretary during Sir Tony’s government) as his “reform tsar”.
“Considerable salaries must follow,” they said.
Milburn is expected to be offered an official role at the Department of Health, after months of attending meetings across NHS England and the department. despite not having any formal role, such as minister or special advisor.
Multiple responses to the online consultation also called for the health service to stop spending millions a year on diversity programs and officers.
Andrew Smith wrote: “The NHS is currently spending between £13 and £40 million a year on diversity officers and associated “educational” activities.”
Others also demanded an end to free healthcare at the point of use for non-Brits and those visiting the country from abroad.
One wrote: “It looks like we are paying for an International Health Service where foreign nationals can fly to the UK to use NHS services for free.”
Announcing the inquiry, Sir Keir Starmer said: ‘My mother worked for the NHS, my sister worked for the NHS and my wife still works for the NHS. So I know firsthand how difficult it has been for staff and patients fighting a failed system for more than a decade. But it’s time to roll up your sleeves and fix it.
Outlining the Government’s ten-year health plan on Sunday, Streeting emphasized the importance of patients’ relationship with their GP, saying it was one of the things the Government wanted to protect along with free healthcare at the time of need and shorter wait times for equipment.
In opposition, the party pledged to build “an NHS fit for the future”, with greater emphasis on preventing disease, moving care from hospitals to the community and harnessing the latest technology to improve care.
He said: “Our ten-year health plan will preserve the traditional values of the NHS in a modern environment.”
The plan is also expected to include bigger features for wearable technology to help people monitor their health and create a single medical record that patients can view through the NHS app.
But the Health Secretary also refused to rule out introducing fines for patients who miss NHS appointments.
While he insisted it wasn’t something he was considering now, he said he would be “more open-minded” if it was still an issue in the future.