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Boris Johnson left A&E patients in shock after paying a surprise late night visit to Kettering General Hospital - but not everyone was impressed to see him.

The Prime Minister arrived at the NHS facility, which covers North Northamptonshire and South Leicestershire, around midnight on Friday before posing for selfies in the emergency department.

The hush-hush trip came hours after Mr Johnson came under fire for rubbing shoulders with the rich at a Tory ball despite not visiting flood-hit areas, and amid fears over the coronavirus crisis.

One patient, who did not wish to be named, said he was taken aback after seeing Mr Johnson suddenly appear but admitted he was "brutally honest" with him when the Tory leader sat down for a chat.

He had been waiting in the department since 4.30pm on Thursday - with lengthy hospital waiting times a regular occurrence for him as he has ongoing health problems.

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"He stopped and spoke to me and asked how I was doing and what my thoughts were towards the hospitals waiting times," he continued.

"I won't lie, I was brutally honest and I then asked him what he was doing here.

"He said that he was looking around as he has put some of the NHS funding towards the hospital to make it better."

The 27-year-old scaffolder said he always considered the current PM as a "bit of a dopey bloke who doesn't really know what's going on" but his brief chat had changed his mind.

"He was a lovely bloke," he said. "And actually caring to all other patients."

However, some people were apparently not so impressed with Mr Johnson's visit as they waited to be seen by medical staff.

"There were a couple of people who wanted to keep quiet and moved away [when the PM arrived]," said the patient, but added an elderly couple posed for selfies with the politician.

The patient, who lives in Rothwell having moved to the UK from Australia at the age of five, said the special guest somewhat lifted the mood of those waiting but more left a feeling of "what the hell just happened?"

"I was just sat there and suddenly I saw Boris Johnson walking down the aisle towards us," he continued. "He was being shown around, speaking to anyone he could.

"He was in the paternity ward with the families with kids, wishing them well. He said 'I'm guessing you're a patient?' He shook my hand and next thing I knew he'd sat down next to me. He asked me how I'd been waiting. When I said since 4.30 he was quite upset with that.

"That's when he said hopefully the new funding for the hospital would mean that would improve in the future."

At around 2am, the patient said he had been told there were still two patients ahead of him in the queue - adding that he probably attends A&E once a month, and that this waiting time is "average".

But he did not wish to go into detail about his ailments.

He said Mr Johnson was escorted by two security guards, while another couple of staff members waited outside A&E in a car, while the PM was shown around by hospital bosses.

It's understood Johnson was there for the whole night shift and was shown around the whole hospital which has been designated as one of the government's HIP2 shortlist of 40 facilities across the country in line for a rebuild.

Mr Johnson has been slammed for claiming there will be 40 "new hospitals" despite only a fraction of the cash being available now, and the total including rebuilds rather than all-new hospitals.

Last night's hush-hush visit was in stark contrast to some of the Prime Minister's encounters at hospitals last year.

On one visit with cameras in tow, he was confronted by a furious dad who told him the NHS is being "destroyed" and said: "My daughter nearly died yesterday".

Omar Salem attacked the Prime Minister for being in "La La Land" during a visit to a London hospital in September.

The dad said his baby daughter took two hours to receive treatment at Whipps Cross University Hospital in Leytonstone, east London - telling the Prime Minister: "Would you like that for your own children?"

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The clip quickly went viral and a spokesman for the Prime Minister said Mr Johnson was visiting public services to see for himself the reality of the situation.

No 10 declined to comment today, saying it was a private visit.

Mirror Online contacted the hospital but a spokesperson said they did not wish to comment.