Boris Johnson took a reporter’s phone and put it in his pocket after refusing to look at a photo of a child who had to sleep on a hospital floor.
The 4-year-old with suspected pneumonia forced to lie on a pile of coats on the floor of an overstretched Leeds hospital.
The Prime Minister was being interviewed by ITV News political correspondent Joe Pike, who asked Mr Johnson to look at a photo of four-year-old Jack, whose mother Sarah Williment covered him with coats to keep warm as he waited for a bed at Leeds General Infirmary.
“His mother says the NHS is in crisis, what is your response?” the reporter asked Johnson who refused to look at the phone.
Mr Johnson did not look down at the photo on Mr Pike’s phone, instead saying he would “study it later” as he kept attempting to steer the conversation on to Tory investment in the NHS and his usual soundbites.
In a clip of the interview posted on Twitter, Mr Pike said to Mr Johnson: “You refuse to look at the photo. You’ve taken my phone and put it in your pocket Prime Minister.”
Mr Johnson then took the phone out of his pocket, looked at the photo on the screen, and said: “It’s a terrible, terrible photo. And I apologise obviously to the families and all those who have terrible experiences in the NHS.
“But what we are doing is supporting the NHS, and on the whole I think patients in the NHS have a much, much better experience than this poor kid has had.
“That’s why we’re making huge investments into the NHS, and we can only do it if we get Parliament going, if we unblock the current deadlock, and we move forward.”
At the end of the interview, Mr Johnson said: “I’m sorry to have taken your phone. There you go.”
In a Q and A on Monday afternoon, Mr Johnson was asked twice about the phone incident, and on both occasions refused to directly address what was being asked, instead choosing to talk about Tory plans to invest in the NHS.
Shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth said: “Refusing to even look at an image of a child suffering because of Conservative cuts to the NHS is a new low for Boris Johnson. It’s clear he could not care less.
“Don’t give this disgrace of a man five more years of driving our NHS into the ground. Sick toddlers like Jack deserve so much better.”
He described the picture of Jack as ‘shameful’ and said: “Boris Johnson should personally apologise to Jack and his family. A decade of Tory cuts has brought us to this crisis in our NHS.
“If the Tories win on Thursday, patients including children will suffer five more years of this. We need a Labour government to save our NHS.”
Earlier Shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth warned lack of investment and staffing pressures under the Tories has impacted on patient safety.
More than 4,600 deaths between October 2018 and November 2019 can be linked to patient safety incidents in the NHS, Labour revealed on Monday.
After a decade of Tory administration, NHS figures show the health service is performing at its worst ever level against key targets on A&E, cancer care and the wait for operations. 4.42 million patients – the highest ever number – are on the waiting list for treatment as The Society for Acute Medicine said acute and emergency care in the NHS is “imploding” before the expected winter crisis hits.
Dr Nick Scriven, outgoing president of the Society for Acute Medicine, has warned hospitals are under “intense pressure” with many at full capacity, yet politicians are “avoiding the elephant in the room”.
Earlier, Mr Johnson apologised to “everybody who has a bad experience” in the NHS after the story of four-year-old Jack emerged
Ms Williment told the Daily Mirror her son was eventually moved to a ward, where he waited for five hours on a trolley before a bed was found at 3am.
Diagnosed with flu and tonsillitis, Jack was allowed to be taken home at lunchtime.
Ms Williment, 34, told the Mirror she would now switch allegiance and vote Labour in Thursday’s election, owing to her concerns about the state of the NHS.
She said: “I am frustrated about the system and the lack of beds, which I am presuming is due to a lack of funding to the NHS to deliver the services that are required.”
Asked about the incident during an interview on LBC, the Prime Minister said: “Of course I sympathise very much and I apologise to everybody who has a bad experience.
“By and large I think the NHS do an amazing job and I think that they deserve all praise for the service they provide – but they do need investment and that’s why we’re doing it now.
“But they need investment from a one nation government that really cares and understands – that’s us that cares and understands – and you need long-term funding.”
Dr Yvette Oade, chief medical officer at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, said: “We are extremely sorry that there were only chairs available in the treatment room, and no bed. This falls below our usual high standards, and for this we would like to sincerely apologise to Jack and his family.”
