I MUST tell you about my experience with the NHS.

The pains in my chest were quite unbearable whenever I coughed - so much so that my wife rang our surgery to get me an emergency appointment.

After talking with a doctor she was advised to call 999 for an ambulance.

The ambulance took less than ten minutes to get here. The two paramedics had me wired up for sound in next to no time. They completed an ECG, had a needle in my arm ready for anything to go into my system, and my blood pressure was taken. Once in the accident and emergency wing I was seen almost immediately by a nurse, and before being visited by a doctor.

We talked and the eventual outcome was a short journey into X-ray for a picture of my chest. This taken, it was back into A&E to see the doctor again.

He came with his diagnosis - no heart problem. Thank God. I have a severe chest infection which should clear up after a course of antibiotics.

All praise to A&E doctors and staff.

Ken Grant,

High Street,

Thornton-le-Clay,

York.

Updated: 10:37 Monday, November 19, 2001