Rod Stewart visits hospital after paying for patients’ MRI scans

Rod Stewart, 78, had raged that it is “ridiculous” when ill patients face long waiting times to access diagnostic scans and treatment.

In a bid to change that, he offered to personally pay for “10 or 20 scans”, exclaiming: “People are dying because they can’t get [one].”

Arriving at the Princess Alexandra Hospital in Harlow, Essex, on Friday, Rod said he wanted to “prove I’m not all mouth and trousers”.

Sir Rod’s donation is covering a day of scans for patients, which are being carried out at private healthcare firm InHealth’s mobile MRI scanning unit which is currently positioned at the hospital site.

Speaking at the hospital, Rod said he would like to pay for scans elsewhere too.

“If this is a big success, which I think it will be, I’d like to do it in Belfast, Dublin, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Manchester, and just keep it going, and hope some other people follow me,” he said.

When Rod phoned Sky News last month, he said he had been a devoted Tory supporter for the majority of his voting life, but now – after seeing lives destroyed by lack of medical assistance – he believes the government should step down.

“Give the Labour Party a go [instead], this is heartbreaking. In all my years in this country, I’ve never seen it so bad… change the bl***y government!”