A medical student at Addenbrookes hospital unleashed an incredible tirade slamming “coward” Boris Johnson for refusing to answer questions from members of staff and the general public, and denounced the government’s “indefensible” record on the NHS following the Prime Minister’s botched “PR stunt” visit to the Cambridgeshire hospital this afternoon.
Julia Simons, a 23 year-old medical student who works at the Cambridgeshire hospital, said she tried asking Johnson two questions but was “pushed away” and told she was not allowed to speak to him.
In an astonishing interview following Johnson’s visit, the medical student was initially asked what she questions she asked the Prime Miniser, to which she replied:
“What did I say to him? I said: ‘As a future doctor, what guarantees can you give me that the system that I work in will have drug accessibility?'”
“And then I also said: ‘And as a doctor who will be working in the future, how will you prevent the climate crisis that is currently being allowed to continue under your government?'”
She was then asked whether Boris Johnson answered her questions, and responded by saying:
“[shakes her head] I was pushed away. So basically, I just came out of clinic and I was told that Boris Johnson was coming, and I was like ‘oh my goodness’ – as a normal person you never get that opportunity to say something to someone like that! I really wanted to ask him like, ‘what’s next?’, and I was told I wasn’t allowed to ask him any questions – so I think it’s a really good sign it’s just a PR stunt.”
“People who work in this hospital know the reality of cuts. I’m a medical student – I don’t know the reality of cuts in the way these people do. They were all really angry to hear that he was coming here for a PR stunt because we know what cuts have done to our NHS. We know the NHS is being privatised – even if it’s not explained in explicit terms. I mean, Jeremy Hunt literally wrote a book about how to privatise the NHS. And, he [Boris Johnson] was scared to be asked questions by members of the general public because he knows that what he’s done is indefensible when you look at the reality of waiting times, when you look at the reality of people not getting that treatment when they need it – not because of poor medical care, but because of cuts that prevent it from happening.”
The medical student was then asked what the mood amongst the staff was like regarding Boris Johnson’s visit:
“So we weren’t told that he was coming – and I think that’s a really big sign, because as a Prime Minister you should be proud of how you’re leading your country. We were told that we weren’t allowed to know he was here. I literally only happened to be in that place at that time, so most of the staff in this hospital had no idea that he came – it was very much a ‘through the backdoor’ kind of affair. We weren’t allowed any contact, so I think it’s kind of hard to know the mood because noone was able to process that emotion.”
The medical student finished her tirade by labelling Boris Johnson a “coward” and slamming the government for their record on the NHS.
You can watch the incredible interview below:
