Q Why do men die young? A Because their wives nag them!
You’re a sexist dinosaur, NHS boss told after ‘joke’
An NHS chief was at the centre of a sexism row yesterday after quipping that men died earlier than women because they are ‘nagged to death by their other half’.
Sir Andrew Morris made the comment at a meeting held by a health think-tank, triggering jeers from the 150 delegates who were present.
Later, he tried to make amends by apologising to the ‘ladies in the room’.
The 61-year-old chief executive of Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust, which has 900,000 patients in parts of Hampshire, Surrey, Berkshire and Buckinghamshire, triggered a storm of protest with the remark – although an MP came to his support, accusing critics of producing ‘mock rage’.
Jon Rouse, from Greater Manchester Health and Social Care Partnership, said: ‘Dinosaurs still roam in East Berkshire.’
Lizzy Dobres, of the UK Council for Psychotherapy, said there was ‘still such a long way to go’. She added: ‘Shocked to hear Andrew Morris say men die younger because “women nag them”.’
Sir Andrew, who was once named the country’s top health sector chief executive for his leadership qualities, apologised for his remarks when approached by the Sun.
The chief executive, who is paid a salary of £215,000, said: ‘I made a comment that I realised right
‘Completely inappropriate’
away was completely inappropriate. I would like to apologise unreservedly for any offence that it caused.’ But even the apology was attacked. Andrew McCracken, of national Voices, a coalition of health and social care charities, described it as ‘rubbish’.
However, Conservative MP Peter Bone, a member of the Commons’ health committee, dismissed the ‘mock rage’. He said: ‘I think we get too vexed about all these sorts of things. It was supposed to be a joke at an event. He didn’t mean it in any way seriously.’
Joyce Robins, of pressure group Patient Concern, warned it was unwise for those who ‘dictate policies’ to make such comments but said it was ‘not a big deal’. ‘I’d shrug and say “Oh push off”,’ she added.
Sir Andrew’s full comment on Wednesday, at the meeting held by The King’s Fund in London, was: ‘Usually the blokes die off earlier because they’re nagged to death by the other half.’
It came in response to national figures showing a change in life expectancy rates.
Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt and NHS England chief executive Simon Stevens were both in attendance. Sir Andrew was last year revealed to have received a £35,000 pay increase. The 19 per cent rise came after the takeover of a nearby NHS trust.
The remark came two days after academics at University College London warned jumps in life expectancy were ‘grinding to a halt’ because of our ailing health and social care systems.
Waiting times for routine operations are on the rise, there are delays for ambulances and in A&E departments, and cancer patients are being denied the latest drugs.
Social care services are struggling with the ageing population and council-funded home visits are being restricted.
A spokesman for The King’s Fund said: ‘The comments were made at our event but it’s not something we’re commenting on.’