NHS has been exceptional for us in a non-Covid way | Rick Jackson

We’ve also heard how some people may have seen the cancellation of other vital treatments, or even receiving a late diagnosis and therefore losing precious treatment time.

But my experience has been a very good one and it concerns by father-in-law who in December found a worrying lump on his neck.

He went to see his GP one morning. After a thorough examination, his doctor expressed his concern and made a phone call to Queen Alexandra Hospital, Cosham.

That afternoon he received a phone call from QA asking if he was free to come in for a scan. He was.

Just after Christmas a biopsy was taken and he was booked in for an MRI scan. Things were progressing at a worrying pace.

After several conversations with the consultant it emerged that he feared the lump was cancerous and the MRI was to show how far the cancer may have spread. Such worrying times.

A further biopsy was planned to decipher once and for all the situation as after two different scans, nothing was conclusive.

Then, just two months after first seeing his GP, my father-in-law received his results.

Benign. What an incredible relief.

It was incredible the speed at which his care happened. From a worrying lump to a full diagnosis in just two months.

Now, with the pandemic in full flow and lockdown introduced you could argue that maybe that department wasn’t as busy? But doctors, nurses, radiographers, the whole team that works together had to do so in the most challenging conditions ever seen in the UK.

We tend to only hear the negative stories of people’s experiences with the NHS so here is another side of the story.

For my family, our experience of the NHS and our local hospitals has been exceptional.

Have you Ever Given thought to bridging that harbour gap?

Thank goodness I’m not the captain of the 400,000-tonne container ship Ever Given, now world famous for blocking the Suez Canal for a week after apparently being blown off course.

I wonder if he was actually on the bridge at the time?

Not only will he be under scrutiny from the authorities and his employers, but also every wise guy on social media who can make a meme!

What a shame he didn’t get blown blown off course within Portsmouth Harbour.

As this massive ship is 400 metres long, we could have cut holes in the bow and stern and used her as an excellent and much-needed bridge between Gosport and Portsmouth!

Hiring the Cowley brothers might just be master stroke

Could this be a master stroke from the powers that be at Portsmouth Football Club? Hiring a young, ambitious manager, hungry to prove himself at a higher level after much success at a smaller club.

Danny and Nicky Cowley didn’t listen to advice and signed a contract until the end of this season. Their rhetoric and actions are of a management team building our club’s future.

I bet they are doing everything to drag this talented yet disheartened squad over the finishing line – a play-off place! If a longer contract had been signed, the need for instant results wouldn’t be so great. Form and momentum, that’s the promotion secret and I think they arrived at the right time.

A message from the editor, Mark Waldron.

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