“My friend was in hospital recently. She’s doing okay and has been passing the time by playing board games…” (NHS joke)

The “NHS” (National Health Service in England) can sound like “any chess,” and there are jokes. A popular hospital pun has been cited in print since at least March 2021. This was posted on X/Twitter by ®ich C_K on March 13, 2021:
 
My friend was in hospital recently. She’s doing okay and has been passing the time by playing board games, she’s mastered monopoly, clued, draughts.
“Any chess?”
“No, she went private”.
 
   
Wikipdia: National Health Service (England)
The National Health Service (NHS) is the publicly funded healthcare system in England, and one of the four National Health Service systems in the United Kingdom. It is the second largest single-payer healthcare system in the world after the Brazilian Sistema Único de Saúde. Primarily funded by the government from general taxation (plus a small amount from National Insurance contributions), and overseen by the Department of Health and Social Care, the NHS provides healthcare to all legal English residents and residents from other regions of the UK, with most services free at the point of use for most people.
     
X/Twitter
®ich C_K (insert blue tick here)
@RichC_K
My friend was in hospital recently. She’s doing okay and has been passing the time by playing board games, she’s mastered monopoly, clued, draughts.
“Any chess?”
“No, she went private”.
12:42 PM · Mar 13, 2021
   
X?Twitter
John Collins
@HolyDalek
My aunt has been in hospital recently.
She’s doing okay and has been passing the time by playing board games such as backgammon, draughts and mah-jongg.
“Any chess?”
“No, she went private”.
6:07 PM · Mar 13, 2021
   
X/Twitter
Yorkshire farmer
@foulmouthfarmer
My aunt has been in hospital recently. She’s doing okay and has been passing the time by playing board games such as backgammon, draughts and mah-jongg.
“Any chess?”
“No, she went private”.
12:53 PM · Mar 14, 2021
     
X/Twitter
💂🏻‍♀️👋🏻вєαя🍻🇬🇧™
@BigBearF1
My mate has been in hospital recently. She’s doing okay and has been passing the time by playing board games such as backgammon, draughts and mah-jongg.
“Any chess?”
“No, she went private”.
PLEASE DONT DELETE ME FOR THIS JOKE
3:13 AM · Mar 15, 2021
 
X/Twitter
Nicola Jane Swinney
@NicolaJSwinney
‘My aunt is in hospital. She’s passing the time by playing board games such as backgammon, draughts and mahjong,’ I told my friend.
‘She asked, ‘Any chess?’
I said, ‘No, she went private.’
6:44 AM · May 12, 2021
 
X/Twitter
Robert Wilkinson
@robertwlk
I told my friend that my aunt is in hospital and passing the time playing draughts, ludo, mahjong etc.
“Any chess?”
“No, she’s gone private.”
2:43 PM · Apr 2, 2022
 
X/Twitter
Robert Wilkinson
@robertwlk
I told my friend that my aunt is in hospital and passing the time playing draughts, ludo, mahjong etc.
“Any chess?”
“No, she’s gone private.”
12:52 PM · Mar 14, 2024