Stephen Fry says hospital experience made him ‘proud to be British’

Actor and host Stephen Fry has said his admission to hospital last year made him “proud and happy to be British” as he called for greater NHS funding.

Fry has joined Frankie Boyle, Doc Brown, Rosie Holt and other celebrities to support a new campaign calling on general election candidates across Britain to take the Pledge for the NHS.

The campaign, organised by public ownership campaign group We Own It, calls on political candidates to commit to ending NHS outsourcing and funding the NHS in line with comparable European countries.

In a video released to support the campaign, Fry said he went to hospital after an accident off stage in September.

Recounting his personal experience of the NHS, he said: “I had an accident, walked off stage not knowing that it involved a 6ft drop on to concrete and multiple fractures in my hip and leg and ribs.”

Fry continued: “I was taken by ambulance to the nearest NHS hospital which is not regarded as one of the great ones.

“It was fantastic. The people were just incredible.

“Yes, some of the paint was peeling on the walls. Yes, it could do with some infrastructure, love and probably, you know, better hours for those junior doctors and nurses and other support staff.

“Nonetheless, these were wonderful things to experience and I felt so happy and proud to be British.

“The spirit and the idea of the health service is as important and alive today as it ever was unless we allow it to be run into the ground.

“I think it’s worth fighting for it. I think it’s worth stopping this underinvestment. I think it’s worth standing up and declaring how much we value it.”

The TikTok video has received more than 160,000 views.

Johnbosco Nwogbo, lead campaigner at We Own It, said: “The NHS is a key election issue.

“Right now we have a short window of opportunity to shape election manifestos and show political candidates that ending privatisation and protecting our NHS as a fully public service is a priority for voters.

“Politicians don’t always do what they promise, but they hardly ever do good things that they didn’t promise.

“That’s why we must push for bold commitments to end wasteful outsourcing, fund our NHS in line with the rest of Europe, and protect it for future generations.”