Our NHS is in need of urgent healing

It’s heartbreaking to admit that the safety I felt in NHS hands as a child after I fell down the stairs, or as a student when I was in outpatient eating disorder recovery, has disappeared, writes Harriet Williamson

As I lay on different tables covered in that hospital tissue paper that tears and wrinkles as soon as you touch it, two things occurred to me (PA)

Last week, I attended two medical appointments in the space of three days. That’s a lot for me, as my usual practice is to ignore physical problems in the hope that they will just go away on their own. (I do not recommend this as a strategy for good health, please do not do it.)

The medical powers that be suspect I have endometriosis, a long-term condition that affects one in 10 women globally and takes an average of seven and a half years to diagnose in the UK. As Niara Mae writes of her own experiences with the condition for Voices, endometriosis can be accompanied by “a whole list of symptoms besides severe pain”.

As I lay on different tables covered in that hospital tissue paper that tears and wrinkles as soon as you touch it, two things occurred to me. The first was that if I had to pay for these appointments, I would not have even countenanced attending. I would’ve put up and shut up, popping increasingly strong painkillers and hoping for the best while the symptoms continued to dictate my life.