In a recent article for the Conservative Home website, Emily Carver, head of media at the right-wing think tank the Institute for Economic Affairs, claimed the country is 'beginning to fall out of love with the NHS.'
In the piece, Ms Carver pointed to the huge backlogs faced by our nation's creaking health service as it tries to battle an enormous post-covid workload, staff sickness and continued virus cases. She suggested the NHS has gone from 'hero to zero' over the course of the pandemic and it is now time for a 'more sensible discussion about market-based reforms.'
This latter part is not a new narrative from those on the right, but the volume of the noises castigating our national health service and advocating for a bigger role for the private sector in our healthcare have been getting louder of late as the NHS continues through arguably its most difficult ever period.
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Now in the best of times I would strongly disagree with the arguments put forward above, I am and always will be an ardent and passionate supporter of the NHS. It just so happens that as I read that particular piece, I was more indebted to our National Health Service than ever.
Regular readers (if there are more than one, that is) may recall a piece I wrote at the turn of the year, which recalled a sudden and worrying diagnosis I received of a retinal detachment in my right eye. For the unacquainted, it is a very serious problem that occurs when the retina - a vital part of the eye that sends visual images to the brain - is pulled away from its correct position. Without the correct treatment, a retinal detachment will usually lead to blindness in the eye.
As I mentioned in my previous piece, the diagnosis was a huge shock. I have never had any issues with my eyes previously and to suddenly be told I required emergency surgery to save my sight was a lot to process. While I was pretty unlucky to be hit with such a problem, I am certainly fortunate to live just minutes away from a world class eye hospital in St Paul's, based in the Royal Liverpool Hospital.
That first operation, back in December, appeared to have gone to plan and by late February my supremely skilled surgeon was very happy with how things were healing and preparing to discharge me. It looked like this fairly harrowing saga was coming to an end.
But a couple of weeks later I noticed a change. My vision had remained blurred since the first surgery, which is known as a scleral buckle, but it had been improving. I was pretty much functioning normally providing I wore glasses for work on screen.
I guess when you develop serious issues with your eyes you become pretty attune to any changes and I noticed the vision had deteriorated and the appearance some new floaters. My heart sank. I headed back to the emergency department at St Paul's with an air of resignation before a doctor quickly confirmed my worst fears, the retina in my eye had detached again.
I've written previously about the incredible care have received from all the staff members at this wonderful facility, from skilled, friendly nurses to expert, world-leading surgeons. Even the man (Tom) who runs the hospital's twitter account has been an immense support over the past few months.
Their unfaltering compassion was needed and hugely appreciated once again as I broke down at the news I would need further emergency surgery to try and save the sight in my eye. It takes a special skill to be able to comfort someone in distress while immediately organising an emergency procedure and I will never forget their efforts.
With the buckle operation sadly not working, it was decided I would require a more invasive operation this time around called a vitrectomy. This surgery involves making small incisions in the eyeball and removing some or all of the vitreous gel from the middle of the eye so that surgeons can properly treat and address the cause of the retinal detachment.
In my case, a gas bubble was then inserted into my eye to act as an extra support for the retina during the healing process. This came with the fun little caveat that I had to lie on my right side for ten straight days after the operation in order to direct the supportive bubble into the right place for a sustained period.
Now I like lying in bed more than most people, but not so much when it is enforced. And not so much when you can't do anything else for 240 hours.
As if so often the case, I am indebted to my wife for looking after me so well during those 10 dormant days in particular. We got married last September and I have already resolutely tested the whole 'in sickness and in health' idea pretty early on. She has been amazing.
I am still only a few weeks on from that surgery but the signs are looking positive. The retina has remained in place and things seem stable now - aside from a quick trip back to A&E last weekend to deal with some dangerously high pressure. As my brilliant surgeon Professor Heinrich Heimann told me at the last check up, we are not quite at the 'hooray' stage yet, but hopefully heading towards it.
It was during that seemingly endless sideways stint that I came across the article mentioned earlier and it got me thinking about how different my situation may have been had I not had instant access to a brilliant, specialist NHS eye hospital that is free at the point of use.
A quick google of private healthcare operators saw me quoted figures of between £6,000 and £8,000 for a vitrectomy surgery, with a further £1,000 added on for the anaesthesia I (gratefully) received. Another provider was offering consultations at £250 a go and 'second opinion consultations' at a further £400. A cataract removal surgery - which I will most likely require in the next year or so - would add a further £2500 to my bill. In total I would be looking at medical bills of £15,000 to £20,000 had I gone down the private route.
At times I feel decidedly unlucky to have suffered a double retinal detachment in a matter of weeks. But then I swiftly remember how fortunate I am to have received truly expert care at every single stage of this process and have not been saddled with exorbitant bills and debts that I would not be able to pay.
There is no doubt that the NHS is struggling at the moment. A story I have written just this weekend tells shows hospital beds lining corridors and some A&E patients not being seen to for a deeply concerning 24 hours at another local hospital. This is a picture being recreated all over the country as exhausted health and care staff continue to battle the impacts of the pandemic and the far-reaching problems it created.
Chris Hopson, the chief executive of NHS Providers said recently that he and other health leaders agreed this is 'the longest most sustained period of NHS pressure they have ever seen in their careers. Let's not forget covid arrived after a decade of Conservative mismanagement of our nation's most precious institution.
Our National Health Service is not perfect, it had its problems and right now it is going through one of its darkest periods. But the answer is not to pour scorn on the service or those who have worked so heroically within it to get us through these unprecedented years.
The NHS has been there for so many of us when we needed it most and right now it needs all of our support more than ever.
