Jeremy Clarkson was rushed to hospital just days after publishing a controversial column about the NHS, where he received excellent care from the medical staff
Jeremy Clarkson(Image: Jam Press/@jeremyclarkson1)
Jeremy Clarkson, not long after launching a scathing critique of the NHS in which he claimed that many foreign doctors working in UK hospitals are only here because they’ve been barred from practising in their home countries, found himself needing hospital treatment.
In his Sunday Times column, the former Top Gear presenter didn’t disclose exactly why he required urgent medical care, simply describing the procedure as “Defcon 1 painful”, and jokingly adding that “they had to chisel me off the ceiling with a spatula afterwards.”
Jeremy admitted that he had held private health insurance for several years, but expressed frustration at how often insurers tried to avoid covering various treatments.
Instead, he opted to regularly put money into a separate bank account.
However, when Jeremy urgently needed medical attention last weekend, he was a good two-hour drive away from the nearest private healthcare facility, reports the Mirror.
This meant he would be admitted to an NHS hospital just hours after his article labelling the health service a “creaking old monster” had been published.
Clarkson criticised the NHS in his column(Image: Getty)
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He joked: “I had a very hot neck when I realised this and wondered if I should maybe tiptoe into the hospital in a Piers Morgan face mask.”
He worried that someone might urinate in his tea as a form of retaliation, or even physically harm him.
Despite his ordeal, the NHS staff’s professionalism left him unscathed and he was discharged the next morning: “It was OK,” he said, “I’ve slept in way worse hotels.”
Even though he has previously criticised the health service in his column, Jeremy expressed satisfaction with the care he received: “I genuinely couldn’t find anything to moan about at all. The doctors, the nurses and everyone I met were kind. It was all spotless. Lunch was kids’ food-brilliant, and they even made me better – for which I shall be eternally grateful.”
However, Jeremy maintains that the current scale of the NHS is simply unsustainable and warns that the chancellor will be forced to increase taxes to support it: “Rachel Reeves is going to have to fleece absolutely everyone for more cash,” he predicted.
“She targeted the farmers last time around. This time, I wouldn’t be surprised if she went after your children’s pocket money. And of course, she’ll tell us she needs more money for the NHS.”
He listed a number of things that could be banned to alleviate the strain on the health service, including tanning salons, wood-burning stoves, and meat. He also contends that the NHS requires a radical revamp, if not total dissolution: “It’s an excellent organisation and the frontline staff are superb,” he writes.
“But in its current state, we as a nation cannot afford it.”