If Jeremy Hunt can't get it right, can we blame anyone else for getting it wrong?

Yesterday in the House of Commons health secretary Jeremy Hunt admitted that he had taken one of his children to A and E, rather than waiting until "later on" (sic) to attend the GP out-of-hours service.
Moreover it seems he has received a good measure of support for his actions in the social media. Clearly I am not in tune with the hive mind of the Twittersphere, because I think it stinks.


Jeremy Hunt himself has bemoaned the unacceptable waiting times at A and E, and warned of the imminent meltdown of the whole system when winter kicks in properly, yet he seems to have no problem encouraging the general population to abuse the service in exactly the way he has done. I am perfectly well aware of the deficiencies of GP out-of-hours services in parts of the country, though here in South Wales the system works extremely well, with waiting times well below what you will find if you take your sore throat or feverish child to the Casualty department.


I have said in the past that part of the congestion in A and E departments comes from an immigrant population who are insufficiently versed in how things work here- that and a cohort of people who do know perfectly well how it works but flagrantly ignore all the protocols in order to "save time"- exactly as Jeremy Hunt did. These people should be told how the system works and directed to the appropriate service, which in many cities, including Cardiff may be found right next door. Which is what they should have done to Jeremy Hunt:
"The relevant place to deal with your problem is right over there, sir. At the door marked "GP OUT OF HOURS SERVICE". Byee!"