New episode of 24 Hours in A&E: Dear Father…
The RTS award-winning documentary series returns for a twenty-second series following patients treated in the same 24-hour period at St George’s in south west London. The hospital has one of the busiest A&E departments in Britain – a place where stories of life, love and loss unfold every day.
This episode follows the stories of fathers and sons and the bond between them, as well as the role of the NHS in supporting those patients with no close family by their side.
77-year-old John is rushed into St George’s with a life threatening abdominal aortic aneurism, otherwise known as a ‘Triple A’. As doctors work out whether they can save his life with emergency surgery, we hear from his only son, who faces losing not only his father but who he considers to be his best friend.
In resus, 62-year-old Noel has come to A&E alone having suffered a traumatic injury threatening his livelihood. He has severed his hand and partially amputated his thumb whilst working as a carpenter. With no close family to be at his bedside, the staff at St George’s fill the void before he’s taken to theatre under the care of the plastic surgeons who attempt to save his thumb.
29-year-old Jamie is rushed to St George’s after his motorbike collided with a car on a motorway slip road on his way to work. We hear from his father who migrated from Bangladesh to Dundee, and learn about his struggles bringing up Jamie and his brother Daniel as a single Dad.