Mike Portnoy’s rant didn’t go down well (Picture: Getty)

Drummer Mike Portnoy found himself on the receiving end of some sharp comments from fans after ranting about his treatment by the NHS.

The former Dream Theater drummer is now touring with Neal Morse, but found himself in need of medical treatment ahead of a show in London this weekend.

He did not go into details about his condition, saying only that he was heading to hospital because he was ‘extremely sick’.

Afterwards the frustrated star hit out at the hospital he visited, writing on his Facebook page: ‘A very special NO THANKS to the staff at the Whittington Hospital for NOT seeing me regardless of telling them that there is an audience waiting for our show to begin…’




Going on to say he left without a doctor in order to make the show at Islington Assembly Hall, he claimed he couldn’t stand up or lift his arms.

https://www.facebook.com/mikeportnoyofficial/posts/969028269781482

But his choice of words didn’t go down with many fans, who thought he was suggesting he should be allowed to skip the queue.

One fan wrote: ‘The fact that you have a show does not make your illness more urgent then others. I commend this hospital for not allowing celebrity status to effect their triage queue. Shame on you for trying to play that card. I am a fan and expected more.’

Another fan, who said they were a doctor at the hospital in question, explained the need to prioritise patients.

They said: ‘Waiting sucks, I know, but dying patients suck even more.’

Others voiced their displeasure on Twitter.

Glad to see that @MikePortnoy is well enough to slag off the NHS for not treating him before priority (ie. dying) patients. — Violet C. (@Violettuce) March 8, 2015

@MikePortnoy the 'do you know who I am?' line doesn't work with the hard working folk of the NHS. A VERY bad call to insult doctors & nurses — David Calvert (@powerportraits) March 8, 2015

Mike Portnoy writes insulting post at English hospital for not seeing him before other people who had more serious complaints. Good Riddance — Charlie  † (@david0akes) March 8, 2015

But musician Zardonic was more sympathetic to Portnoy, suggesting he had only wanted to avoid disappointing his fans.

Commenting on the Facebook page, he weighed in: ‘I just saw this, and I seriously cannot believe any of you guys. Mike Portnoy is not being pretentious. He literally needed urgent attention to perform. I don’t think doing a quick check on him would have threatened the lives of anybody.’