This Morning’s Eamonn Holmes slams “NHS Spongers” for not taking responsibility for their health

The TV presenter engaged in a heated debate about the NHS on Thursday’s show
Responsibility: Holmes blasts people taking advantage of the NHS (ITV)
Safeeyah Kazi5 January 2018

This Morning’s Eamonn Holmes has slammed “NHS Spongers” for not taking responsibility for their own health.

During a discussion on Thursday’s episode of the chat show, the 58-year-old raged about the strain placed on hospitals and staff in the healthcare system

The debate came after secretary of state for health Jeremy Hunt apologised for cancelling thousands of non-urgent operations yesterday.

Holmes explained that he had fallen ill while in Ireland over Christmas and was in disbelief when he was told by his doctor he could claim back £1.80 for over-the-counter tablets.

(Responsibility: Holmes blasts people taking advantage of the NHS (ITV))
Responsibility: Holmes blasts people taking advantage of the NHS (ITV)

The TV personality branded those who claim money back from doctors for medication they could buy at a local supermarket “spongers”, saying people needed to “take responsibility” for their own health.

Holmes became even more wound up when his point that Accident and Emergency Departments could be split up into sections to help quicken the system was questioned.

He said: “A&E is really bad and we need to rethink it. If I need a tyre replaced I will go to a unit who will change it. You should be told, ‘Window one, legs; window two, appendix; window three, legs.”

(Feisty Holmes: Viewers praised him for his "feisty" comments (ITV))
Feisty Holmes: Viewers praised him for his "feisty" comments (ITV)

When asked how recently he’d been to A&E, he fought back: “I’ll tell you mate-the last time I was in A&E was a few weeks ago when my mum had to be in a corridor. That’s when!” Viewers took to social media to praise Holmes for his “great” point on the system.

One user tweeted: “Well said, Eamonn. Personal responsibility seems to be forgotten a bit!”

A second tweeted: “Eamonn getting feisty so he is!”

Another wrote: “Good work, Eamonn!”

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in