Theresa May’s government “doesn’t get” the NHS, a BBC Question Time audience member told Tory MP Karen Bradley on Thursday, as he passionately addressed cuts in funding.
The man, who said he has worked in the service for 20 years, received rapturous applause from the audience when he tackled the cuts in services for elderly people.
Addressing the Culture Secretary, he said: “I work in the NHS, I look after old people. I have done it for 20 years.
“Every day I see the effects of your government cuts on the services that we so desperately want to deliver for our older persons.
“Hospitals should be able to admit older persons straight away and welcome them. Not have them waiting for 14 hours on trolleys.”
He continued: “And when it’s time for them to be discharged from hospital, we should be able to do that safely.
“Your government doesn’t get it. Elderly people, care of the elderly, need more resources.”
His comments received a loud applause from his fellow audience members in Sunderland, where the show was being filmed this week.
Many viewers watching the programme from home also felt passionately about the NHS, blaming underfunding and staff shortages for its failings.
Bradley responded to the accusation, saying: “I don’t think that anybody in the government has said we don’t need to address this problem, that’s why the money was put in in the budget.
“We do need to make sure that we get this right.”
Bradley said it was “not just about money”, adding that it was also down to how local authorities manage funding.
But host David Dimbleby made the point that councils all had their budgets slashed 40% by the government.