It seems a lifetime away now, that balmy, surreal Spring evening in 2020 when the nation first took to the doorsteps to clap the NHS and care workers as the first lockdown began. It's easy to be cynical about that moment, but it demonstrated, in sharp relief, the love and gratitude this nation has for its health service.
It is a beloved institution, but more than that, the NHS, which is 75 years old on July 5, is entangled deeply with our lives, something that people are fiercely passionate about - a miraculous gift from a nation making good on its post-war promise to improve the lives of those who had given so much. Our children are born in it, our loved ones die in it. The health service is the background to the best and worst moments of our lives.
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