The Sunday Post (Newcastle)

King Kenny hails nhs heroes

- by KENNy DALGLISH SCOTLAND LEGEND AND POST COLUMNIST

People may think my name got me the best of care but every patient in the NHS gets the best of care. We are lucky to have them and I wish every one of them well as they work so hard to get us through this – Kenny Dalglish after being released from hospital yesterday

Sir Kenny Dalglish hailed the heroes of the NHS yesterday after being released from hospital where he had been diagnosed with coronaviru­s.

The football legend was tested after going to hospital for treatment for gallstones but had been showing no symptoms. Recovering in self-isolation at home yesterday after being released from hospital, Sir Kenny paid tribute to health service staff on the Covid-19 frontline.

The Celtic, Liverpool and Scotland legend said: “They were absolutely brilliant. As a nation, we are all very fortunate to have them and I wish them all well as they work tirelessly to help the country through this pandemic.”

Writing for The Sunday Post, our columnist said his family’s admiration and respect for the expertise, profession­alism and compassion of NHS staff was boundless.

His personal tribute came as it emerged 10 doctors, including some who came out of retirement to help former colleagues, were among the 20 NHS workers who have died in the pandemic as the number of deaths linked to Covid-19 in the UK approaches 10,000.

It’s never easy being in hospital but when you are in the care of our NHS staff then it is wholly comforting and you know you are in good hands.

I had been in the Southport & Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust for a couple of days because I had felt very unwell at home during the week.

I’m not one for making a fuss – especially in the current climate – but knew something wasn’t right. So, I went to hospital to be checked over. Turns out I had gallstones.

When I arrived at the hospital, as a matter of course, I was also swabbed for coronaviru­s and the result came back positive. I am asymptomat­ic as I experience­d no symptoms of the virus.

I had been self-isolating in the house for a few weeks so I’m honestly not sure how I got it.

I was released from hospital yesterday lunchtime and I’m back home. I’ll selfisolat­e for another seven days or so.

I’ll be resting but I am feeling fine, thankfully.

The amount of good wishes and messages of support the family and I received in the past 48 hours was very humbling.

It meant a lot to me, Marina, our children and grandchild­ren.

I’d just like to thank the doctors, nurses and all the staff for looking after me. They were absolutely brilliant.

People may think the Dalglish name got me in and got me the best of care. Not so.

I was looked after because the NHS staff treat everyone the same. They look upon everyone as human beings. Names and background­s don’t come into it. That’s the way it should be.

The Dalglish family has always had the utmost respect for the NHS and the work they do. Being a patient in a hospital the past couple of days has only reinforced that for us with their knowledge, profession­alism and compassion.

As a nation, we are all very fortunate to have them and I wish them all well as they work tirelessly to help the country through this pandemic.

The message from the government for the past three weeks has been to stay indoors and help save lives.

Let’s make sure we all do that and follow the rules. We want the country to have some form of normality back as quickly as possible.

Being true to the guidelines and not abusing the leeway given to us will help us get there that wee bit quicker. The NHS is under enough pressure without anybody adding to it unnecessar­ily.

If we all do our bit in the coming days and weeks then we can look forward to getting back to work.

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 ??  ?? Sunday Post columnist Kenny Dalglish
Sunday Post columnist Kenny Dalglish

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