New episode of 24 Hours in A&E: Survivors…
The award-winning 24 hours in A&E returns with a series of compilations featuring some of the most memorable staff and patient stories filmed since 2011 at King’s College Hospital and St George’s Hospital in South London – places where life, love and loss unfold every day.
This episode from St George’s focuses on patients and staff who have all overcome personal setbacks and adversity.
83 year-old Eve is in A&E with her husband John after falling down the stairs into her basement whilst carrying the laundry. She has an open ankle fracture that needs urgent realignment to restore the blood flow to her leg. Nurse Jerry recognises the seriousness of her injury, “it could be fateful for her limb.” As doctors work out a plan to stabilise the bones in her ankle, husband John recalls how he met Eve when he was just 17 working in London’s Covent Garden Market. Eve worked at the telephone exchange and John describes her as, “the best looking of the lot” while Eve describes him as a “skinny weed” but 63 years later they’re still happily married. Whilst doctors plan to realign her ankle ahead of emergency surgery we learn about the tragedy that befell both their daughters and how their grandson helped them overcome their loss.
Four-year-old Maddi is brought into A&E after falling over and injuring her neck on a train. Maddi was born with the bones in her neck fused together and she recently had complex surgery to fit a metal plate in her neck at Great Ormond Street Hospital.
Consultant Adrian is concerned the plate may have shifted when Maddi fell and could cause damage to her spine, “even some minor movement can lead to…disruption of the spinal cord…becoming quadriplegic”. As doctors carry out CT scans of her neck and spine, dad Adam recalls how they’ve constantly been in and out of hospital, “it’s been quite tough on her mentally and physically…and you have to stay strong just for her”. As Maddi shows remarkable courage during her treatment, Dr Jess reflects on the importance of her own father and reveals how it affected her when he was diagnosed with a blood disorder.
Receptionist Julie is starting her shift in the Urgent Care Centre. She’s one of the longest serving members of staff having worked in the A&E department for 28 years. It’s also the hospital she was born in and also where she gave birth to her son. She recalls to a member of staff how her husband betrayed her and talks candidly about the emotional impact it had on her and how her “A&E family” helped her through it, ‘we’re always there for each other at the end of the day”.
