It's not my fault I’m fat. I blame the NHS. This week the NHS has announced proposals that would see all unhealthy foods removed from its hospitals.

Hospital shops will get points if a given percentage of their snack sales are for food and drink under 250 calories. They will no longer sell large packets of chocolate etc.

“Nanny state,” my brain screams. I think of people like my husband who would be hard-pressed to find an inch of spare flesh and for whom a bar of chocolate is an enjoyable treat.

If there is going to be a 250 calorie limit, the shops will be unable to sell virtually any bars of chocolate.

I don’t know that it is right to take away the will of people who can surely make their own choices.

I do know, though, that past experience has taught me that it is the best place in the world to gain weight.

I once lost 101 pounds – over seven stones. I reached my goal weight, featured in a slimming magazine and was never going to be overweight again.

I had three problems: I had been determined to keep going to slimming classes once a week but felt embarrassed by one of the class leaders who pretty much told me I was being stupid.

The second problem was that I had reached my goal weight. I was bullet-proof.

The third problem? My sister was in hospital.

I would leave work and travel the 90 minutes to visit her. I would get to the hospital and try for something “good” to eat before visiting.

It was impossible. It may have changed now but my choice was cakes piled with cream, jam or sugar, pies and sandwiches loaded with margarine, mayonnaise or sauces.

You would have been hard-pressed to find anything under 500 calories never mind 250 – and you wouldn’t have had to go anywhere near a chocolate bar to use your daily calorie count in one meal.

It was almost as if the cafe was trying to drum up future business for the hospital.

Let them serve unhealthy food if they must – but give us a choice!

I think that is the difference. Sell what you want but make sure you cater for those who want to stay healthy, those who don’t care and, by the way, those who want to buy a bar of chocolate as a treat for a patient!

Can I just say, however, that I never thought I would be writing a column about the dangers of selling chocolate in a hospital shop.

I’ve lived through much more than that.

I remember getting the front page of our daily paper when my local hospital board decided that visitors would no longer be able to smoke at patients’ beds.

Patients weren’t being stopped, you understand – just visitors!

When the ban finally extended to the patients themselves there was outcry.

I sat through long arguments about the stress of being in hospital and, therefore, the need for a calming cigarette.

Was there not enough stress on the patient without depriving them of calming nicotine?

Looking back with 2017 eyes it seems incredible that people did smoke in hospital – patients, visitors and staff.

At one time the waiting rooms in doctors’ surgeries had large trough-like ashtrays and you and your doctor could enjoy a cigarette together while discussing your symptoms through the smoke cloud in his office!

Do you think that in the future we will look back on today’s NHS announcement with amazement and amusement?

Will we be able to picture a time when people were allowed to eat chocolate willy-nilly even in a hospital?

Nah! Won’t happen!