Northerner
Admin (Retired)
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
The battle of words between the scientist Stephen Hawking and the health secretary, Jeremy Hunt, over the health of the NHS has continued with Hunt writing that Hawking “is once again wrong in his characterisation of government policy towards the NHS”.
On Saturday, after a week of angry exchanges, Hawking wrote in the Guardian: “Hunt’s statement that funding and the number of doctors and nurses are at an all-time high is a distraction. Record funding is not the same thing as adequate funding. There is overwhelming evidence that NHS funding and the numbers of doctors and nurses are inadequate, and it is getting worse.”
He accused Hunt of cherry-picking and misrepresenting research. “As a patient who has spent a lot of time in hospital, I would welcome improved services at the weekend. For this, we need a scientific assessment of the benefits of a seven-day service and of the resources required, not misrepresentation of research.”
Hunt responded on Sunday by repeating his insistence that hospital care was significantly worse at weekends. “Most doctors in their hearts would rather a loved one was admitted mid-week than at the weekend,” he wrote.
https://www.theguardian.com/politic...es-war-of-words-with-stephen-hawking-over-nhs
On Saturday, after a week of angry exchanges, Hawking wrote in the Guardian: “Hunt’s statement that funding and the number of doctors and nurses are at an all-time high is a distraction. Record funding is not the same thing as adequate funding. There is overwhelming evidence that NHS funding and the numbers of doctors and nurses are inadequate, and it is getting worse.”
He accused Hunt of cherry-picking and misrepresenting research. “As a patient who has spent a lot of time in hospital, I would welcome improved services at the weekend. For this, we need a scientific assessment of the benefits of a seven-day service and of the resources required, not misrepresentation of research.”
Hunt responded on Sunday by repeating his insistence that hospital care was significantly worse at weekends. “Most doctors in their hearts would rather a loved one was admitted mid-week than at the weekend,” he wrote.
https://www.theguardian.com/politic...es-war-of-words-with-stephen-hawking-over-nhs