"The NHS and me."

This is not a story as such, more a summary of my experiences in the last few years. The NHS and I were born in the same year so I have always felt an affinity with it. I was fortunate until recently of not requiring much contact with the NHS but as I have aged my active past has caught up with me and I have had much more contact with the NHS than I would have liked.

I have had many, many appointments with GPs, surgeons, nurses, physios and so on not to mention frequent contact with administrative staff in regard to the numerous ailments that have plagued me in later life.

So how do I feel about this frequent contact and how has the NHS performed in relation to me? My overall reaction is that the people I have met and the treatment I have received have been overwhelmingly positive. I cannot thank enough the various individuals and teams who have taken care of me. Mostly my contact has been with St Margaret’s in Auchterarder, PRI and to some extent Ninewells and Stracathro and the level of service and expertise has been generally excellent.

The NHS has had a lot of criticism in recent years but I feel that should be aimed at politicians and management and not the staff. For me the creation of the NHS was a wonderful thing and it has helped sustain me into my old age.