IT was like we'd never been away.

Insults, cat-calls, barracking, heckling and that was just in the Press Gallery.

The first PMQs of the dog days of the Coalition government became a microcosm of the election campaign: Labour MPs condemning the Government's failure on the NHS and Tory MPs hailing its success on the economy.

Blue Dave, looking suitably brylcreemed, made sure he got his defence in early on the hot political topic of the day - the A&E debacle.

Running off statistic after statistic which showed just how much the Coalition cared for our wonderful NHS, the PM then used the old political trick of saying what a marvellous job the under strain heroic doctors and nurses were doing.

Red Ed could barely get up quickly enough as he read out his own list of stats to show just how dire the A&E crisis was, noting how one patient had resorted to Twitter to seek medical help.

After Dave stopped shaking his head, he insisted any health care service in the world would be struggling with the pressures the UK NHS was facing but stressed it was important to be clear about the numbers. But he had a problem with this.

Raising his nose and his voice, the shiny-haired premier declared: "Today, compared with four years ago, over 2500 more patients are seen within four years."

Four years? I didn't realise it was that bad. Swiftly, Mr C corrected himself, saying it was within "four hours than four years ago".

To comradely cheers, Mr M insisted the PM was "not apologising to patients; he's blaming the patients!"

The heat was rising quickly as the chief comrade claimed it was "blindingly obvious" why patient A&E numbers were rising: the Government's decision to close walk-in centres, reduce social care services and introduce the top-down reorganisation.

But the crimson tide was on the up. Dave, after accusing the nasty socialists of not wanting to improve the NHS but just to use it as a political football, he had his secret weapon: a quote.

The PM said Red Ed had told the BBC's Nick Robinson how he wanted to "weaponise" the NHS. As Tory hackles rose and rose, Dave barked it was a "disgusting thing to say" and urged the Labour leader to deny it.

He didn't of course, declaring, to Labour roars, that what was really disgusting was a useless prime minister who "said people could put their trust in him on the NHS and he...has...betrayed...that...trust".

Normal service has been resumed.