Sunak told ‘you need to try harder’ as NHS patient challenges PM

Rishi Sunak has been told ‘you need to try harder’ by an NHS patient during his first public outing as Prime Minister. Visiting Croydon University Hospital in London on Friday, the Prime Minister was accused by Catherine Poole, a 77-year-old patient who is recovering from surgery, of not compensating nurses and NHS staff sufficiently. Ms Poole said: ‘It’s a pity you do not pay them more.’ Mr Sunak appeared slightly taken aback by the comment, made in response to a simple question about whether she was being ‘looked after’. The accosting came as Mr Sunak faces the difficult task of plugging a £50 billion black hole in the British economy, with plans being drawn up to fix the issue by cutting back on public spending. The Prime Minister asked the elderly female patient: ‘Have they looked after you?’ Ms Poole said: ‘They always do… but it’s a pity you don’t pay them more.’ Mr Sunak responded: ‘We’re trying.’ Unsatisfied by his answer, Ms Poole added: ‘No, you’re not trying, you need to try harder.’ Mr Sunak said: ‘Right, well I will take that away. They are a very nice team, though, aren’t they?’ Ms Poole said: ‘They are, but it is important because they do very hard work.’  Rishi Sunak was told to “try harder” by 77-year-old NHS patient Catherine Poole (Image: SKY NEWS ) Rishi Sunak speaks to Catherine Poole at an NHS hospital (Image: GETTY )The south Londoner also told Mr Sunak she was hoping to go home from Croydon University Hospital in south London in the coming days. Earlier this month more than 300,000 members of Britain’s largest nursing union began voting on taking strike action in a dispute over pay. Nurses in the NHS have taken real-term pay cuts across the board as salary rises lag behind soaring levels of inflation. The ballot was the biggest in its 106-year history.The female patient told the prime minister he must ‘look after’ the state-run National Health Service (NHS) and do more to support nurses. READ MORE: King ‘going to relish’ meeting with Sunak once a week [REVEAL]  Sunak made his first public visit as PM, attending the Croydon University Hospital (Image: GETTY )Mr Sunak, Britain’s third prime minister in two months, has been reportedly drawing up spending cuts and tax rises to fill a large hole in the public finances.The Royal College of Nursing said it had been forced to ballot staff about a strike after years of real-terms wage cuts deterred people from joining the profession, leaving huge staffing gaps across the health service.The NHS, which has provided healthcare free at the point of use since 1948, is popular with voters and accounts for about a third of government spending on public services.However, the COVID-19 pandemic increased demand from patients, with record numbers waiting to start routine treatment and some patients left languishing in ambulances for hours outside hospitals or on trolleys waiting for a bed.DON’T MISS: Joe Biden ‘has learnt to pronounce’ Sunak’s name as POTUS rings up PM [REVEAL] Sunak and Macron completely ignore Brexit in first call  [REPORT] Slick Sunak releases 90-second behind-the-scenes clip of inside No10 [INSIGHT]  Nurses in the NHS have taken real term pay cuts as salary rises lag behind soaring inflation (Image: GETTY )Asked at the hospital on Friday why he had chosen to ‘come here’, the Prime Minister said: ‘Well, it’s brilliant to be here at Croydon Hospital to see the great work of the doctors and nurses here. ‘One of the priorities for my Government is going to be tackling the Covid backlogs and supporting the NHS, and what’s going on here actually is a fantastic example of what’s possible because of the way they’re doing things here differently, elective activity is now even higher than it was before Covid. ‘And look, we face lots of challenges as a country, but I am confident that we can fix the economy and deliver on the promise of the 2019 manifesto, including having a stronger NHS.’ The NHS could be in line for a further tightening of budgets, as Chancellor Jeremy Hunt eyes ways to fill a multi-billion pound fiscal black hole.READ NEXT: Rishi Sunak pulls out of Cop 27 to focus on Autumn Budget’Smart guy’ Sunak’s Truss criticism vindicated, says ex-Trump adviserBBC QT erupts into row as Lammy clashes with Hartley-BrewerCoffey signals U-turn after hinting at Charles’ COP27 attendanceSunak seeks migrant deal with Macron to curb Channel crossings