Dear Jeremy Hunt, ‘we literally hate you’, love from the NHS

Jeremy Hunt and NHS workers opposite houses of parliament
Fréa Lockley


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On 9 July, Jeremy Hunt became the UK’s new foreign secretary. Following Boris Johnson’s resignation, Hunt ended his almost-six-year stint as the longest serving health secretary.

And as Hunt left the NHS, doctors, nurses and patients took to social media to tell him exactly what they thought.

Just four words…

Dr Mat Hoskins responded to Hunt’s resignation tweet, and in just four words, he summed up what thousands of NHS workers feel:

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We literally hate you.

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There was widespread agreement with Hoskins’ analysis:

“Decimated”

Hoskins was not alone, because ‘tributes’ to the former health secretary also poured in from NHS workers around the country. Nurses, doctors and health workers shared similar opinions about Hunt:

Another NHS consultant was highly critical of the ways Hunt has presided over NHS patient safety and called Hunt a “bully in chief”:

“A disgrace”

2018 marks 70 years of the NHS. But this Tory government has overseen:

the smallest increase in spending for any political party’s period in office since the second world war… the ten years up to 2020/21 are likely to see the largest sustained fall in NHS spending… in any period since 1951.

And doctors shared their thoughts about Hunt’s role amid these cuts. Too many people have died and there are calls for him to give evidence in an upcoming inquiry:

As The Canary has previously reported, the NHS is in crisis. In January 2017 – under Hunt’s watch – the Red Cross said it faced a “humanitarian crisis” and deployed help at hospitals. Hunt has also overseen and engineered the ongoing cuts in social care which have created even greater pressure on A&E departments.

So it’s little surprise that doctors also called Hunt “a disgrace”:

And then there’s Hunt’s role in the creeping privatisation of the NHS:

Hunt’s replacement, Matt Hancock, isn’t much cause for celebration:

Meanwhile though, despite brutal working conditions, most are still glad to see the back of Hunt:

However, some doctors don’t think the NHS crisis will end with Hunt’s departure. Because the real issue is this government:

Most people working in the NHS know that Hunt drove it further into the ground. As the odds fall on the prospect of another general election, healthcare workers around the country are watching and waiting: because a change of government is desperately needed. But at least they also got to tell Hunt: “we literally hate you”. And it’s a sentiment that’s impossible to disagree with.

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Featured images via NHS Confederation/Flickr and screengrab

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