Senior medics hit back over the US President’s claim that a central London hospital has “blood all over the walls and floors”
Donald Trump is believed to have been referring to the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel – which treated 702 stabbing victims last year – saying it is “worse than any hospital in a war zone” in a newspaper interview.
A London-based consultant, who is also on the council for the British Medical Association, said Mr Trump should focus on US healthcare before criticising the NHS.
Kevin O’Kane said: “I don’t think Donald Trump knows much about the NHS or healthcare in general. Maybe he should concentrate on violent crime and gun crime in the USA instead.
“The Royal London is a world-leading hospital. Perhaps instead of knocking the NHS he should concentrate on affordable healthcare in America.”
Michelle Drage, chair of the LMCs, the body which represents 7,000 GP practices in the capital, said: “Little knowledge is a dangerous thing. He has no concept of what our hospitals do on a day-to-day basis. He is making judgements about what goes on when he has no idea.
“His comments are wholly unjustified. He is playing with us and picking on the one thing we all know is our treasure, and that is the NHS.”
A spokeswoman for the Royal London said it was “absolutely refuting this claim that there are blood on the walls and floor of the hospital.”
Trump told The Sun: “They had a story in one of the major New York newspapers recently about your hospital. What they say is, it is worse than any hospital they have ever seen in a war zone.
“It is right in the middle of London. I guess it used to be the ultimate and now there is, you know, there is blood all over the walls, all over the floors.”
In April, Royal London trauma surgeon Dr Martin Griffiths likened some of the injuries he sees to those seen in Afghanistan.
He said: “Some of my military colleagues have described their practice here as being similar to being at Helmand province’s former Camp] Bastion.”
Source: News Agencies
