Gay Strictly star and actual doctor wades into A&E child on floor debate: ‘I am DONE with it’
Dr Raj Singh has urged his followers to “vote to change things for the better” (Twitter)
Dr Ranj Singh, a gay TV presenter, author and paediatrician who starred on 2018’s Strictly Come Dancing, has waded into the “fake news” debate over a sick child who was forced to sleep on the floor in A&E.
Four-year-old Jack Williment-Barr was pictured with an oxygen mask, lying down on a coat in Leeds General Infirmary’s emergency department after being taken to hospital with suspected pneumonia.
The photo was published by the Yorkshire Evening Post on Sunday and quickly became symbolic of the NHS’s troubles. “It was chaos,” Jack’s mother told the newspaper. “The NHS is in crisis… It was so busy. There are just not enough beds.”
Many refused to accept the incident actually occurred, claiming it had been staged to discredit the Tories, while Boris Johnson was reluctant to even look at the photo and bizarrely grabbed a reporter’s phone when questioned on it.
“This picture has been causing some controversy, so let me explain a few things to people who think it’s a fake/propaganda,” Singh wrote on Twitter yesterday.
He proceeded to succinctly explain why all the critics are wrong, using his experience as a specialist in paediatric emergency medicine.
This picture has been causing some controversy, so let me explain a few things to people who think it’s a fake/propaganda…
I hope this little boy is better now too ❤️ pic.twitter.com/B7CatQ40GI
— Ranj Singh (@DrRanj) December 10, 2019
“This sort of thing isn’t rare,” he said. “It sadly happens in A&Es across the country more than people think because we sadly run out of space to see/put patients during times of huge demand (e.g. winter). It’s a horrible situation and we do our best to prevent it.”
He continued: “This is no fault of the staff/hospital. It’s because of increasing demand on services without funding/resources to match, which has got worse under the current government.”
He also pointed out that the picture of the child in A&E isn’t a fake as the hospital itself has confirmed that the incident did happen, and has apologised to the family for the ordeal.
“So perhaps we can stop arguing over the above, and perhaps vote to change things for the better instead? I am DONE with it.”
The woman who originally alleged that the photo was staged now says that she never posted the claim and her account has been hacked.
