Greenland does not need US hospital boat sent by Trump, says Denmark

Greenland does not need medical assistance from other countries, Denmark has said, after Donald Trump said he was sending a hospital ship to the autonomous Danish territory that he wants to acquire.“The Greenlandic population receives the healthcare it needs. They receive it either in Greenland, or, if they require specialised treatment, they receive it in Denmark. So it’s not as if there’s a need for a special healthcare initiative in Greenland,” the country’s defence minister, Troels Lund Poulsen, told the Danish broadcaster DR on Sunday.In Greenland, as in Denmark, access to healthcare is free. There are five regional hospitals across the vast Arctic island, with the Nuuk hospital serving patients from all over the territory.Mette Frederiksen, the Danish prime minister, defended Denmark’s healthcare system, writing on Facebook that she was “happy to live in a country where there is free and equal access to health for all. Where it’s not insurances and wealth that determine whether you get proper treatment.”“You have the same approach in Greenland,” she said, before adding: “Happy Sunday to you all” in front of a blushing, smiling emoji.The Greenlandic local government signed an agreement with Copenhagen in early February to improve the treatment of Greenlandic patients in Danish hospitals.Trump on Saturday posted on his social media platform, Truth Social that “we are going to send a great hospital boat to Greenland to take care of the many people who are sick, and not being taken care of there”.“It’s on the way!!!” he added.Trump has said the US must control Greenland to ensure its security, though he has backed down on earlier threats to seize it after striking a “framework” deal with the Nato secretary general, Mark Rutte, to ensure greater US influence.Lund Poulsen told DR he was not aware of the hospital ship’s possible arrival. “Trump is constantly tweeting about Greenland. So this is undoubtedly an expression of the new normal that has taken hold in international politics,” he said.Earlier on Saturday, Denmark’s Arctic command announced that it had evacuated a crew member of a US submarine off the coast of Nuuk after the sailor requested urgent medical attention.