Rishi Sunak has been savaged by a junior doctor after he tried to blame striking NHS staff for rising waiting lists.
The prime minister was grilled live on LBC by Olivia, an A&E registrar who has been working in the health service for 10 years.
She told him that he and the government were to blame for the plummeting staff morale which has led to an NHS staffing crisis.
The clash came amid the ongoing industrial action by junior doctors over pay and conditions.
“My experience is that frontline services are so stretched that you are in a position where you have had almost all healthcare workers going on strike this year,” Olivia said.
“How do you think your refusal to negotiate with us improves morale or standards of care?”
Sunak replied: “You and I, sadly, are just going to disagree on this. I’m proud of what we’ve done. We’ve invested record sums in the NHS since I became prime minister.
’Not only that, just the other week we announced the first ever long-term workforce plan for the NHS so we can deliver something that’s been asked for for decades, which means we will train more doctors, more nurses, more of everyone in fact, so we’re less reliant on foreign-trained clinical staff.
“And we’re reforming how the NHS works to get people the care they need and supporting you and your colleagues to do that.”
The PM added that the ongoing junior doctors’ strike was “causing waiting lists to go up” - prompting a furious response from Olivia.
She said: “I think it’s amazing that we’re blaming the increasing in waiting lists on doctors going on strike. You’re losing staff because we’re under-valued and it’s not just doctors, it’s everyone.
“A happy workforce is your responsibility. You’re the prime minister, you’re the government, your staff are unhappy - that’s your fault and ultimately that’s not good for patients.”