Getting to know Mo…
What is your role within A&E?
As a trauma registrar you must be present at all major trauma calls and lead the assessment and management of the unwell patient in conjunction with the emergency department consultant. We also provide a specialist service for all trauma and orthopaedic issues (including foreign bodies in the foot!)
How many patients do you treat in an average day? What conditions / illnesses do they have?
Obviously this ranges, but on average we can deal with up to five or six major trauma calls in any 12 hour shift. These patients will have suffered “polytrauma” (meaning multiple injuries) and therefore may have head, chest, abdominal, pelvic and limb injuries. We lead patient care and coordinate with other specialities when their input is also required.
We may also admit another similar number with relatively less severe injuries, such as hip, spine or limb fractures, and we may review many more and discharge them from A&E. We also support the entire hospital’s inpatients, and its partner hospitals for tertiary centre advice, as well as local GPs.
What did you think when they announced ’24 Hours in A&E’ was going to be filmed at St George’s?
I was anxiously excited but what a great opportunity for the hospital to showcase the fantastic job it does treating its patients.
Did you find it had any impact on your day?
No. Well, at first I felt the cameras presence, but that soon disappeared.
What have you enjoyed the most from your experience of ’24 Hours in A&E’?
The love and support that has been shown!
What is your highlight moment of the series?
I haven’t seen it all yet so I’m looking forward to finding out!
What was the biggest challenge you experienced during the filming?
Everyone warned me off not being involved… Apparently at best you could come off looking normal. I’m glad I had the courage to engage with the fantastic production team.
What do you think about the reaction to the new series and your part in it?
I’ve been massively overwhelmed.
What is the benefit of St George’s participating in a show like ’24 Hours in A&E’?
It’s a first class hospital and people should see that. I hope it does the hospital a great deal of positive publicity so it can secure its services and make the transition to a foundation trust.
Is there anything that was or wasn’t caught on camera which you wish wasn’t or was?
There was a young polytrauma patient involved in a high speed head on collision that had numerous severe injuries including an open chest wound, intrabdominal injuries and a fracture dislocation of his hip. I washed out his thoracic wall/cavity, put a chest tube in and reduced his hip dislocation. This would have made great TV, but more importantly I would have loved to see his progress as we had to transfer him to King’s for his liver injuries.
