Sir Keir Starmer has been mocked on social media for suggesting that people with internal bleeding could self-refer for care rather than see a GP.
In an appearance on the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, the Labour leader was discussing the party’s NHS reform plans when he made the suggestion.
He said: “Would it not be possible to consider self-referral so that individuals don’t have to go to a doctor, use up a doctor’s time in order to get referred to specialist help.
“If you’ve got back pain and you want to see a physio it should be possible, I think, to self-refer. If you’ve got internal bleeding and you just want a test, there ought to be a way that doesn’t involve going to see a GP.”
The idea was widely mocked on social media and branded as “irresponsible” and “barmy”, while others questioned how they could diagnose internal bleeding without medical qualifications.
Richard Murphy, a professor of Accounting Practice at Sheffield University, said: “WTF is Starmer talking about? If you really have internal bleeding you probably need to be in A&E now. So what does he think he’s talking about? This seems like total irresponsibility to me.
Daniel Kelly, a professor at the School of Healthcare Sciences at Cardiff University, said: “Self-referral is what’s already happening. People are turning up at A&E. Instead focus on anticipatory models of primary care.
“Whichever plan is chosen there is going to need to be major focus on retention of the NHS workforce.”
Agnes Ayton, a consultant psychiatrist, tweeted: “I burst out laughing. For self-referrals to work, we would need a massive expansion of capacity and public information campaigns.”
And another Twitter user who said they were an NHS nurse said: “That was the sound of my jaw hitting the floor – is that really the best and most appropriate example he could have come up with?”
Dr Kate Womersley, a psychiatry junior doctor, added that the Labour leader’s “odd comments” about back pain and internal bleeding “is proving exactly why having an expert’s opinion about medical symptoms is usually better than your own vague guess about what’s going on”.
