‘We must fight to keep our NHS’: Wisbech woman, 70, pays tribute to 'unsung NHS heroes' who saved her life

A Wisbech woman has paid tribute to the “unsung heroes” at the NHS – after doctors and nurses fought to save her life.

Rosanna Mitchell, known as Rosie, 70, from Tydd St Giles, was rushed to The Queen Elizabeth Hospital, in King's Lynn, on New Year’s Eve after experiencing a “griping pain” in her lower stomach.

Unbeknown to Rosie, an abscess in her bowel had burst the previous day, causing fluid in her abdomen and an infection to spread in her blood.

She said doctors told her that she would either require a “life-saving” operation or a colostomy/stoma bag, which would “change her life forever”.

Rosie was taken to the hospital’s operating theatre the following morning, where she had a successful operation.

She was later transferred to Sandringham Hospital, where she made a full recovery before being discharged on January 12 – a day before her 70th birthday.

"I want to share another look into our NHS that many don't see,” Rosie said.

"I thought I was going to die. I made my peace and asked God to look after my three children. I accepted it might be my time.

“I took the hand of my surgeon, Mr Hyder, and said ‘look after me doctor’, to which he reassured me by saying he would do his very best. That meant the world to me.

"He was such a kind, compassionate, yet direct and skilled, man."

It comes as last month, just 65 per cent of A&E attendances in England were admitted transferred or discharged within four hours, marking the worst performance on record.

Rosie also credited the “unsung heroes” who cared for her at the hospital.

“In recovery, there is a secret network of kind and dedicated people caring for people,” she said.

“These people are the unsung heroes – never seen by the public yet they are always there tending to patients with diligence and care.

"I was never left alone. They soothed me and made me feel they would do anything to save my life.

“They looked after me so well and I can’t praise them enough.”

Rosie is now on the mend at home with her family and hopes to celebrate her 70th birthday once she has fully recovered.