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Rod Stewart at a fundraising gala in June 2022
Photo: Suzan Moore / dpa
British rock singer Rod Stewart made a surprise call to a live news program on Thursday and ranted live on the phone about Britain's Conservative government.
The health system is in a "ridiculous" state, the government should step down.
"I was a Tory myself for a long time, but I think this government should resign now and let the Labor Party do it," said the 78-year-old pop star.
Stewart, best known for his 1970s hits "The First Cut is the Deepest," "Maggie May" and "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy," made an unannounced appearance on a Sky News program that gave viewers their say .
The theme of the show: the crisis in Britain's National Health Service (NHS).
"It's heartbreaking for the nurses," Stewart said.
“In all the years I've lived in this country I've never seen it so bad.
Change the damn government!”
Stewart, who was battling cancer himself, offered to pay for 10 to 20 hospital scans for patients suspected of having cancer.
"People are dying because they don't get scans like this," said the Brit.
Waiting times for treatment are at record levels in the tax-funded health service, while workers in many sectors are currently walking down their jobs regularly to fight for higher wages and better working conditions.
An agreement with the British government is not in sight.
Due to the catastrophic supply situation in the emergency rooms, tens of thousands of people currently have to wait more than twelve hours until they receive medical care in the emergency rooms.
Clinics are sounding the alarm: there may be 300 to 500 preventable deaths per week.
mgo/dpa/Reuters