United Kingdom Prime Minister Boris Johnson says he finds it hard to find the words to thank those who saved his life, saying “things could have gone either way” while he was in hospital.

Johnson was discharged from hospital on Sunday after being treated for coronavirus, including three nights in intensive care.“I have today left hospital after a week in which the NHS has saved my life, no question,” Johnson said in a video released online. “It’s hard to find the words to express my debt.”

He said health care worker’s courage and devotion stood out.

“I have seen the personal courage not just of the doctors and nurses but of everyone, the cleaners, the cooks, the health care workers of every description — physios, radiographers, pharmacists — who have kept coming to work, kept putting themselves in harm’s way, kept risking this deadly virus,” Johnson said.

Johnson used the message to personally name some of the health care workers who looked after him, including two nurses – one from New Zealand and one from Portugal – who stood by his bedside.

Johnson will now spend some time recovering at the prime minister’s countryside retreat.

Watch the address on Twitter: