Sir Rod Stewart proved he's "not all mouth" by visiting a hospital in the UK after promising to pay for patients to have scans to help cut NHS waiting lists.
The 78-year-old musician headed to the Princess Alexandra Hospital in Harlow, Essex on Friday (24.02.23) just weeks after calling into a TV phone on the Sky News channel in which he offered to provide money to help those facing long waits to access treatment on the National Health Service.
Stewart visited the hospital's mobile MRI scanning unit and met with patient Omarie Ryan who had travelled from London to have a scan on his knee. The singer told him: "So this is my first customer. All good pal? You take care of yourself, stay healthy, alright mate."
Stewart met with both staff and patients at the facility and he told reporters he hopes to encourage others to help fund scans across the UK, saying: "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 added of his decision to visit the hospital: "Because I want to prove I'm not all mouth and trousers and that's why I'm here to prove that I followed through with it, ok folks."
The 'Maggie May' star also explained he decided to offer up money to help after going for a private scan and finding the facility was not at all busy while so many people are facing long waits on the NHS.
He said: "I had just come from my scan in a private clinic near Harley Street [when I called the phone-in]. I walked in and said: 'I'm terribly sorry I'm half hour late'. They said: 'Don't worry, there's hardly anybody in here today'.
"There were eight people with hardly anything to do. Then I thought this is a terrible injustice, so here we are."
