Now, the 71-year-old has said a special thank-you to Wearside's dedicated NHS workers.

John has battled ill health for almost two decades, calling out paramedics so many times his wife, Ellen, 70, is now on first name terms with the crews.

Today, John got a chance to personally thank ambulance crew Sharon Ventress and Kevin Lapping, who helped him receive the life-saving treatment he needed the last time he suffered a heart attack.

The former groundsman at Sunderland Greyhound Stadium said: "Everything you hear about the NHS seems to be bad, but I have only good things to say about it and I just want to say thank-you."

John's health problems started in 1991 when he was taken to Sunderland Royal Hospital after suffering a heart attack.

He was later transferred to the Freeman Hospital in Newcastle, where he underwent a triple heart bypass.

John, who lives at Rutherford Road, Red House, said: "The treatment I received was marvellous and I came home and for the next four to five years everything was great."

But disaster struck again in 1996 when John had a stroke while undergoing a routine angiogram at the Freeman Hospital.

He said: "I couldn't speak for month after it happened and I had to receive physiotherapy at a specialist unit in Ryhope.

"The staff there were absolutely marvellous, they couldn't do enough for you."

Three years later John was back in hospital after suffering another stroke at home. But even then his health worries were not over.

Three years later, doctors diagnosed myotonic dystrophy, a muscle wasting illness which causes severe aches and pains.

And a year later he was diagnosed with bladder cancer, and had to have an operation at Sunderland Royal to remove the tumour.

Since then, John has suffered a further two heart attacks, and has now been diagnosed with prostate cancer.

But despite all, he remains positive and wants to thank all the NHS staff that have helped him survive the last 16 years.

"I just want to stress how marvellous the NHS is and thank everybody who has helped me," he said.

Sharon Ventress, North East Ambulance Service advanced technician, said: "It is so rewarding to hear that patients are happy with the care they have received from us.

"Mr Johnston is a pleasure to treat and care for, he is always upbeat even when he is ill."

Kevin added: "It is patients like Mr Johnston who make our job so rewarding."

A spokesman for City Hospitals Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust added: "We are pleased that Mr Johnston has a high opinion of City Hospitals' health services."