Sir Kenny Dalglish: I’ve always admired the NHS – now I’ve found out just how awesome they are

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 self-isolate 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.