Fed-Up Rod Stewart Offers to Pay for People's Hospital Scans

The UK's National Health Service (NHS) is in crisis, and it's recently been reported that millions of people are waiting for NHS treatment in England—and the wait can be as much as a year long. There are complaints of a so-called "two-tier health system," in which those who can afford to pay for private care ($375 to $500 or so for an MRI, for example) can jump the line. Apparently fed up with the controversy, iconic British singer Rod Stewart called in to a Sky News segment on the issue and offered to pay for people's scans himself, the Guardian reports. He said in his 78 years he's never seen the country "so bad," the BBC reports.

"There are people dying because they cannot get scans," said Stewart, whose call was not scheduled or planned—he was working on his model railroad while watching the show. Meanwhile, he continued, he could simply pay for a scan at private clinic, like one he recently visited that was empty. "I would like to pay for 10 or 20 scans, or however much it takes. I don’t know how we’re (going to) work this out and, hopefully, some other people will follow, because it seems ridiculous that this particular scanning clinic was empty," he said. "If other people follow me, I’d love it." He notes he's been a longtime supporter of the Conservative party, but thinks it's time to give the Labour party a chance to turn things around. (More Rod Stewart stories.)