Hospital Series 4

Episode
Episode 2
Broadcast Info
2019 (58 mins)
Description
Now in its fourth series, the award winning Hospital, for the first time, charts the day to day life of six NHS Trusts across an entire city of Liverpool - whose hospitals have a catchment area covering more than two and half million people, stretching beyond the city to North Wales, Cheshire and to the Isle of Man. Filmed between October and December 2018, as the impact of the collapse of the multinational construction company Carillion is felt across the NHS and other public services, Hospital is the story of the health service in unprecedented times. Edited and broadcast within weeks of filming, this six-part series for BBC TWO will once again capture the day to day realities facing the NHS right now. Hospital will bring audiences close to the issues and challenges that continually dominate the headlines. The Walton Centre is the UK’s only dedicated spine, brain and pain management centre and sits adjacent to the major trauma hospital, Aintree University Hospital. All brain injury patients go straight from the Aintree to The Walton. Twenty per cent more people have come through the Walton Centre’s doors in the last five years and with constant emergency cases, it too, like any other hospital is struggling with pressure on bed numbers and a full Intensive Therapy Unit (ITU). 22 year old Sophie has been in ITU for almost twelve months. After what seemed, at first, to be just a common cold Sophie suffered serious inflammation of the brain stem. It damaged the part of the brain that tells her to breathe, controls eye movement and the muscles around her throat that affect swallowing and speaking. Between January and August, Sophie had to be resuscitated twenty times. Now, despite fully recovering in most ways and looking well, she still needs to be on a ventilator at night with it on standby during the day. She could stop breathing at any time. Sophie wants to go home but until funding and round the clock care can be organised there is nowhere for her to go. It’s care she may need for the rest of her life. Until that happens, she ‘s stuck living in ITU that, so far, has cost the hospital an estimated half a million pounds. Tom also looks physically well. He’s been medically fit for two months but he too has had to remain at The Walton Centre. The 18 year old was the driver in a car accident. Such was the force of the crash he was thrown out of the rear window sustaining significant head injuries. Tom now struggles to remember even the simplest things but doesn’t think there is anything wrong with him anymore and repeatedly tries to leave. The Walton’s consultants say they have done all they medically can and Tom now urgently needs the expertise of rehabilitation specialists if he is to recover further. There are only nine suitable cognitive rehabilitation beds available across the whole of Liverpool’s NHS system so The Walton has no choice but to turn to private rehabilitation services and seek funding for a place for Tom. It could take many more weeks to organise while Tom remains in the acute ward at The Walton. For three years trainee nurse, Michaela, has been a regular in the Walton’s operating theatres but not as a member of staff. A fluid filled cavity on her spinal cord was discovered when Michaela started getting pain in her arms, had difficulty swallowing and became clumsy. Multiple operations later and Michaela now has large amounts of scar tissue around the brain stem, which her surgeon wants to clear because her pain and sickness is getting worse. It’s a difficult procedure with a risk of permanent disability. Michaela is terrified of becoming a burden to her family and fiancé. What makes it more daunting for Michaela is that her surgeon also wants to open up her back to investigate the drains that should be relieving the pressure in the fluid cavity. Michaela and her fiance Andrew are due to get married in May. She wants to be well enough for the big day and to be able to live a normal life together afterwards. Shown from multiple perspectives, audiences witness the complexities of the dilemmas and decision-making, which happen every day for consultants, surgeons and managers and the impact these decisions have on patients. Against the backdrop of historic demands stemming from limited resources, increasing patient numbers and social care at full stretch, the series will show the extraordinary work of some of Liverpool’s 20,000 NHS hospital staff as they push the boundaries of what is possible with world class, cutting edge treatments and life-saving operations.
Genre
Medicine; Business Studies; Science; Biology; Health and Social Care

How to cite this record

The Open University, "Hospital Series 4". https://learningonscreen.ac.uk/ou/search/index.php/prog/232820 (Accessed 10 Jan 2025)