Before you dash off a letter to your MP or scream on social media please read:

”Friends, remainers, leavers, countrymen, lend me some years..

I come to praise the NHS, not bury it.”

It has been a stressful twenty four hours. It started last evening with a telephone call from an elderly neighbour, “can you come over, I have collapsed on the floor, the back door is open”

My initial response was soon thwarted, as a short arse, I couldn’t reach over his back gate to undo the bolt, so back home to collect Jun, so I could lift her up to gain access. His knee had given out in the back garden and he had crawled back in, tried to pull himself up, but his leg let him down and back on the floor he went. We made him comfortable, but he didn’t want an ambulance. After some persuasion he allowed me to call 111, who as you might expect put me through to the ambulance service. Who, for some unknown reason in Somerset, were receiving an unprecedented number of calls. A discussion came to the result we would sit tight and they would get to us as soon as they could, as he wasn’t in danger and no apparent serious injury.

Two hours after our call, the fast response paramedic arrived, lots of checks and tests and an ECG, by now our neighbour was sitting in an arm chair, which was good. His state, coupled by the priority meant we would have to wait, which was fair enough, he was in no imminent danger. I was given advice, incident numbers and instructions what to do if…..

Jun went home as it was now after ten pm and there was little two of us could do, I stayed. At 0200, I had a chat with the 999 ambulance operator, there were tens of calls with a higher priority than us, but we were not forgotten.  The same at 0540.

At 0715 we had a call from a paramedic who said that an ambulance would be available to come to us shortly…..and it did. What a great crew, apologetic, reassuring, the young paramedic was as chatty as Barbara Windsor on gin and steroids. More checks, but the realistic observation, that the need to go to an A&E at a  distant hospital had passed. Our local cottage hospital has a minor injuries unit and X-Ray department which would negate the twenty two mile journey to Yeovil and it would be easier to collect later etc.

So strapped to chair our neighbour left gently in an ambulance, the paramedic still staccato like a machine gun. She was great.

A couple of hours later, X-rayed, checked, tested, relaxed he was released and we could bring him home.

Our NHS is under great pressure, but by God it is good when you see it working.

Is my neighbour upset by a twelve hour wait for an ambulance, not at all. Ninety three year old ex Royal Marines are made of sterner stuff, and we hope that there are a lot of people across the Somerset area, who found themselves ringing 999 last night and whose loved ones are in a safer state because we had to wait.